Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited - Third Quarter 2017 - Period Ended September 30 (unaudited)

DARTMOUTH, NS, Nov. 9, 2017 /CNW/ - Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited (the "Company") today announces its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017.

Highlights

• Revenue for the third quarter of $43.1 million was $1.6 million, or 4%, higher than the same quarter last year, and year-to-date revenue of $122.4 million was $0.1 million, or less than 1%, lower than 2016.  The growth during the quarter was primarily due to growth in the Company's Ontario operations combined with the business acquisition in Kamloops, British Columbia. Year-to-date, the Toronto and Sudbury operations achieved strong revenue growth, largely offsetting declines faced in other areas of the country, particularly at certain Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador stations. 
• Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA"⁽¹⁾) of $13.4 million in the third quarter was $0.3 million, or 2%, higher than the third quarter last year, and year-to-date Adjusted EBITDA of $34.3 million was $0.8 million, or 2%, lower than 2016.  Excluding the $0.8 million net reduction in expenses related to a copyright fee recovery and certain restructuring costs recognized in the third quarter of 2016, Adjusted EBITDA was 10% higher than the third quarter last year.  Contributing to the year-to-date decline was a $0.6 million non-cash expense related to the extension of executive stock options during the year.  Excluding the impact of this non-cash expenditure as well as the net impact of copyright fee recoveries and restructuring charges in the prior year, Adjusted EBITDA was 2% higher than 2016 year-to-date. 
• Profit for the period of $8.2 million was $0.5 million, or 6%, higher than the same quarter last year primarily due to higher revenue, and year-to-date profit of $19.5 million was $1.1 million, or 5%, lower than last year primarily due to non-cash expense related to the extension of executive stock options during the year and the copyright fee recovery recognized net of restructuring costs in the prior year. 

Significant events

• During the third quarter, the Board of Directors approved an increase in dividends to $0.50 per share per annum, up from $0.20 per share per annum. As a result, the Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.25 on each of its Class A Subordinate Voting and Class B Common shares. The dividends were paid on September 15, 2017 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 31, 2017.
• Subsequent to quarter end, the Company entered into an agreement to acquire two FM stations in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, subject to the approval of the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission.

"The Company had a successful third quarter, which made up for the challenging start to 2017 and positioned us for another successful year," commented Rob Steele, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our continued strong results have allowed us to reward our shareholders through a significant increase in our annual dividend."

Financial Highlights - Third Quarter
			Three months ended September 30
(thousands of Canadian dollars, except share information)			2017	2016
Revenue		$	43,103	41,455
Adjusted EBITDA^(1)			13,394	13,122
Profit			8,215	7,738
Earnings per share - basic			0.32	0.30
Earnings per share - diluted			0.31	0.29
Weighted average number of shares outstanding (in thousands)			25,543	25,655
			September 30	December 31
			2017	2016
Share price, NCC.A (closing)		$	12.59	9.76
Total assets			373,382	372,663
Long-term debt, including current portion			120,568	129,455
Shareholders' equity			164,568	151,155

The Company's complete Third Quarter Report, which includes the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements along with related notes in accordance with International Accounting Standard ("IAS") 34, Interim Financial Reporting as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") and the Management's Discussion and Analysis, are available on the Company's website at www.ncc.ca and www.sedar.com.

⁽¹⁾ Non-IFRS Accounting Measure

Adjusted EBITDA is a measure that is not defined by International Financial Reporting Standards and is not standardized for public issuers. This measure may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other public enterprises. The Company believes this is an important measure because the Company's key decision makers use this measure internally to evaluate the performance of management. The Company's key decision makers also believe certain investors use it as a measure of the Company's financial performance and for valuation purposes. A calculation of this measure is included in the Company's Third Quarter Report.

About Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited
Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited (TSX: NCC.A, NCC.B) owns and operates Newcap Radio which is one of Canada's leading radio broadcasters with 101 broadcast licences (72 radio stations and 29 repeating signals) across Canada. The Company reaches millions of listeners each week through a variety of formats and is a recognized industry leader in radio programming, sales and networking.

This press release contains forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations. The use of terminology such as "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "may", "will", "should", "would", "plan" and other similar terminology relate to, but are not limited to, our objectives, goals, plans, strategies, intentions, outlook and estimates. By their very nature, these statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. As a result, there is no guarantee that any forward-looking statements will materialize and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited

REF: Robert G. Steele, President and Chief Executive Officer, Scott G.M. Weatherby, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited, 8 Basinview Drive, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3B 1G4, Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone], e-mail: [email protected], Web: www.ncc.ca