Ballantyne Strong Announces Management Succession and Provides COVID-19 Business Update
April 15 2020 - 10:08PM
Ballantyne Strong, Inc. (NYSE American: BTN) (“Ballantyne
Strong” or the “Company”) today announced that Mark Roberson has
been promoted to Chief Executive Officer and that Todd Major has
been appointed as Chief Financial Officer. Kyle Cerminara will
continue to lead the Company’s Board of Directors in the role of
Non-Executive Chairman.
“These well-deserved promotions are the result
of the Board’s planning initiatives to strengthen the management
team at Ballantyne Strong,” said Kyle Cerminara, Chairman of the
Board. “Mark has led the turnaround in our financial and
operational performance over the past 18 months. Todd has stepped
in to lead our financial organization over the past year, bringing
tremendous financial expertise and leadership to the Company. These
changes reflect the Board's objective of thoughtfully executing a
leadership succession plan, separating the Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer roles, and my personal desire to begin
transitioning my day to day duties to a new leader. I have the
utmost confidence in our management team’s ability to navigate the
current business cycle and to drive the Company’s strategy going
forward. I will continue to be actively involved working with the
management team and the Board on key strategic initiatives
including mergers and acquisitions.”
In response to the rapid spread of the novel
COVID-19 virus, the Company has temporarily curtailed its service
and distribution activities in the United States and temporarily
closed its screen manufacturing facility in Canada. Accordingly,
the Company is taking a number of actions to preserve liquidity
during this period and to remain in a strong competitive position
when the current crisis subsides.
The Company has implemented targeted furloughs
and other actions to significantly reduce operating expenses and
manage working capital. The Company has received $3.2 million under
the Payroll Protection Program, which is expected to be partially
forgivable with any remaining balance after 6 months structured as
an 18-month loan bearing an interest rate of 1.0%. To further
strengthen liquidity, we have drawn $2.9 million CAD on our
revolving line of credit in Canada, currently at a 2.45% variable
interest rate. We expesct these financing activities, combined with
aggressive expense reductions and working capital management, to
increase Company’s current cash position to over $10 million.
“As we face the challenges presented by
COVID-19, we continue to assess the potential financial and
operating impact to each of our business units,” said Mark
Roberson, Chief Executive Officer. “While business and revenue for
the first two months of 2020 started off strong, continuing the
favorable trends from the last half of 2019, our customers,
particularly those in the entertainment and advertising industries,
have been significantly impacted by COVID-19. We have taken
decisive actions and believe those actions will ensure that
Ballantyne Strong is well positioned from a liquidity standpoint
for the next few months. We will be ready to react from a position
of strength when our customers need our support to reopen their
venues and as things return to normal.”
About Ballantyne
Strong, Inc.
Ballantyne Strong
(www.ballantynestrong.com) and
its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including
the design, integration and installation of technology solutions
for a broad range of applications; development and delivery of
out-of-home messaging, advertising and communications;
manufacturing of projection screens; and providing managed services
including monitoring of networked equipment. The Company focuses on
serving the cinema, retail, financial, advertising and government
markets.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information in this
press release, it includes forward-looking statements, including
the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the business and financial
condition of the Company, its customers and suppliers and the
effectiveness of the actions taken to mitigate the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Forward-looking statements involve a number of
risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those
discussed in the “Risk Factors” section contained in Item 1A in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and
the following risks and uncertainties: the Company’s ability to
expand its revenue streams, potential interruptions of supplier
relationships or higher prices charged by suppliers, the Company’s
ability to successfully compete and introduce enhancements and new
features that achieve market acceptance and that keep pace with
technological developments, the Company’s ability to successfully
execute its capital allocation strategy, the Company’s ability to
maintain its brand and reputation and retain or replace its
significant customers, the impact of a challenging global economic
environment or a downturn in the markets (such as the current
economic disruption and market volatility generated by the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic), economic and political risks of selling
products in foreign countries (including tariffs), risks of
non-compliance with U.S. and foreign laws and regulations,
potential sales tax collections and claims for uncollected amounts,
cybersecurity risks and risks of damage and interruptions of
information technology systems, the Company’s ability to retain key
members of management and successfully integrate new executives,
the Company’s ability to complete acquisitions, strategic
investments, entry into new lines of business, divestitures,
mergers or other transactions on acceptable terms or at all, the
Company’s ability to utilize or assert its intellectual property
rights, the impact of natural disasters and other catastrophic
events (such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic), the adequacy of
insurance and the impact of having a controlling stockholder. Given
the risks and uncertainties, readers should not place undue
reliance on any forward-looking statement and should recognize that
the statements are predictions of future results which may not
occur as anticipated. Many of the risks listed above have, and may
be further be, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the
worsening economic environment. Actual results could differ
materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements
and from historical results, due to the risks and uncertainties
described herein, as well as others not now anticipated. New risk
factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for
management to predict all such risk factors, nor can it assess the
impact of all such factors on our business or the extent to which
any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statements. Except where required by law, the Company assumes no
obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual
results or changes in factors or assumptions affecting such
forward-looking statements.
For Investor Relations Inquiries:
Ballantyne Strong, Inc. Mark Roberson
IR@btn-inc.com704-994-8279
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