CONTACTS: Paul Thomason Chief Financial Officer Tel.: (49) 6131-9310-101 Alexander Hoffmann (Investors) Director Investor Relations Tel.: 49 6131 / 9310-150 Fax: 49 6131 / 9310-189 investor@primacom.de Company Web Site: www.primacom.de Morgen-Walke Associates Gordon McCoun, Christine Mohrmann, Eric Boyriven Media contact: Ann Marie Gaschler Tel.: 001 212 850-5600 PRIMACOM REPORTS RESULTS MAINZ, GERMANY, March 29, 2001 PrimaCom AG (Neuer Markt Frankfurt, PRC /ID No. 625910; Nasdaq: PCAG) today reported its results for the year ended December 31,. PrimaCom and Subsidiaries Twelve Months As Reported The Company s results reflect the inclusion of the Multikabel acquisition as of October 1,. For the twelve-month period, revenues increased 17.3% to 124.3 million versus 106.0 million in the same period of 1999, primarily reflecting the contributions of the acquisition of Multikabel in the Netherlands and several acquisitions in Germany in both 1999 and, rate increases for basic analog cable television services and the intorduction in Germany of highspeed Internet access and digital television services. Adjusted earnings before extraordinary items, discontinued operations, minority interests, net interest expense, taxes, depreciation, amortization, non-cash compensation expense and nonoperating expenses less non-operating income (adjusted EBITDA) for the twelve months of amounted to 51.9 million compared with 53.1million in the same period a year ago, primarily as a result of start-up costs related to the Company s Broadband Services Group as well as the inclusion of the accrual related to the possible charge of copyright royalties for programming (GEMA accrual). PrimaCom, press release, p. 1/7
For the full-year period, the Company reported a net loss of 64.3 million, or 3.26 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of 29.3 million, or 1.53 per basic and diluted share, a year ago. Included in the Company s annual results was an extraordinary charge of 8.2 million, or 0.41 per basic and diluted share, primarily related to the write-off of the unamortized portion of the fees and expenses of the Company s existing bank facility, which PrimaCom refinanced and cancelled on September 18,, in conjunction with its acquisiton of Multikabel. Analog Cable Television For the year ended December 31,, Analog CATV subscribers reached approximately 1.3 million, or approximately 380,000 above the same period in 1999. Acquisitions in Germany and the acquisition of Multikabel accounted for most of the growth. Revenue from analog cable television increased by 13.4% from 103.1 million in the year ended December 31, 1999 to 116.9 million in the year ended December 31,. Acquired cable systems and rate increases accounted for the growth. Certain cable systems acquired in Germany during and the Multikabel acquisition have yet to make full-year contributions. Subscribers and revenue contributions from these properties will continue to increase as integration continues. The Company announced the acquisition of an additional approximately 6,000 subscribers in Germany since the year ended December 31,. Broadband Products and Services At December 31,, PrimaCom had approximately 411,000 fully upgraded and ready for service homes. High speed Internet access has been marketed to ready for service homes for the past twelve months. For the period ended December 31,, Internet subscribers reached 20,489. Of this amount, PrimaCom acquired approximately 4,200 dial-up Internet subscribers who will be migrated to high-speed Internet access. The following table reflects high speed Internet access growth and penetration levels. 1 st Quarter 2 nd Quarter 3 rd Quarter 4 th Quarter Ready for service homes 344,000 350,855 375,302 411,000 Internet subscribers 5,297 8,499 14,624 20,489 Penetration 2.4% 2.4% 3.9% 4.9% PrimaCom, press release, p. 2/7
In the year ended December 31,, high speed Internet access subscription fees contributed 745,000 to revenue, compared to 25,000 in 1999. As of December, Digital Television has been actively marketed in the Netherlands and soft launched in a test environment in Germany. The following table reflects the Digital Television subscriber growth and penetration: 1 st Quarter 2 nd Quarter 3 rd Quarter 4 th Quarter Ready for service homes 344,000 350,855 375,302 411,000 Digital Television - 1,067 2,453 5,395 Penetration - 0.3% 0.7% 1.3% In the year ended December 31,, Digital Television subscription fees contributed approximately 103,000 to revenue. Data communications, advertising, e-commerce and other operating revenue associated with the broadband services group contributed over 1,000,000 to revenue in the year ended December 31,. Adjusted EBITDA losses for broadband services were approximately 10.0 million for the period ended December 31,. Twelve Months Pro Forma Presentation Including Multikabel On September 18, PrimaCom AG acquired N.V. Kabeltelevisie Kop Noord-Holland ( Multikabel ). The following comments assume that the acquisition occurred on January 1, 1999. For the twelve months ended December 31,, pro forma revenues were 148.9 million. Pro forma adjusted EBITDA for the twelve-month period was 64.7 million. Financial Position As of December 31,, PrimaCom had outstanding indebtedness of 754.5 million. On a pro forma basis, adjusted EBITDA covers pro forma interest approximately 1.4 times. As a result of the completion of the syndication of the Company s previously announced 1.0 billion Reducing Revolving Credit facility and its 375.0 million capital markets bridge facility. Based on current projections, the Company continues to have a fully-funded business plan. Recent Events PrimaCom, press release, p. 3/7
On February 1, 2001, the Company announced that it had concluded a preliminary agreement with the channels RTL, RTL II, Super RTL, VOX and RTL NEWMEDIA covering a wide range of initiatives including digital TV and other new media. On February 14, 2001 the Company announced that it had acquired three additional cable operators Tele- Kommunikationsgesellschaft mbh Eisenhüttenstadt, Großgemeinschafts-Antennenanlagen Lizenz- und Betriebs GmbH, and Telekommunikations GmbH Kirchheimbolanden, and incraesed its position in PKG Heidenau to 100 percent. On March 7, 2001, the Company announced that it won the case brought before the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) in Karlsruhe. The ruling indicates that Grundstücks- und Gebäudeversicherungs-gesellschaft mbh, the housing association that brought the original suit in February, 1998, may not exert any influence on PrimaCom s price structure. Paul Thomason, Speaker of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer, commented, was a year of significant achievement for PrimaCom as we continued to execute on the growth strategy outlined at our IPO in February, 1999. During the year, we continued to expand through acquisition. Excluding Multikabel, we completed 12 additional acquisitions, adding nearly 88,000 cable television subscribers in key markets to our subscriber base. With the recently-closed acquisition of Multikabel, we achieved our subscriber target for the year. We also continued our upgrade program, providing two-way capability to over 100,000 homes in Germany by the end of the year. saw PrimaCom begin the initial test phase of a digital television roll-out to the German market in Leipzig. To date, this test has progressed well, and we look forward to additional roll-outs of digital television services as we progress through 2001. Mr. Thomason continued, Financially, PrimaCom further strengthened its position in through the successful syndication of new credit facilities exceeding Euro 1.3 billion. We are very pleased to have completed this transaction in spite of tighter market conditions, and believe this demonstrates the support of the financial community of PrimaCom s operating strategy. Mr. Thomason concluded, Looking forward, we remain optimistic about our prospects. Conditions for the roll-out of new broadband services by cable operators in the German marketplace appear to be improving, and we intend to exploit these improving conditions to expand and improve our digital television offerings while continuing the roll-out of high-speed Internet access services. In Germany, we expect to introduce video-on-demand services during the upcoming year, as well as telephony services in the more advanced Dutch cable market. This expansion of broadband products and services allows us to increase our average revenue per user as we go forward. We will also continue our growth through acquisition fueled by the consolidating German cable market, and will focus on increasing the subscriber density of our cable clusters in order to increase the cost effectiveness of the upgrade process. Our combination with the German and certain Dutch cable assets of United Pan Europe Communications, also announced today, is a prime example of this strategy. As more cable companies enter the German market, PrimaCom will continue to play an active role in consolidation and modernization of the German cable sector. PrimaCom, press release, p. 4/7
In conjunction with this release, PrimaCom will host a conference call, which will be simultaneously broadcast live over the Internet. Management will host the call, which is scheduled for today, March 29, at: 5:00 PM (Germany) 4:00 PM (London) 10:00 AM EST 9:00 AM CST 7:00 AM PST From PrimaCom, Paul Thomason, Speaker of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer, Hans Wolfert, Chief Corporate Development Officer, and Alexander Hoffmann, Director of Investor Relations, will host the call. Listeners can access the conference call live over the Internet at http://www.streetfusion.com, or through a link in the international visitors section of the Company's web site at http://www.primacom.de. Please allow 15 minutes prior to the call to visit the sites to download and install any necessary audio software. After the call has taken place, its archived version may be accessed at these web sites. About PRIMACOM (Neuer Markt, Frankfurt, PRC ID No. 625910 and Nasdaq PCAG) PrimaCom currently passes more than 1.8 million households and has approximately 1.3 million customers in Europe. In Germany, PrimaCom has approximately 1 million customers, making it the fourth largest private network provider. Of the 1 million subscribers approximately 11 per cent have been upgraded and are two way capable. A further 320,000 households are connected in the Netherlands; serving around 300,000 customers via an already fully upgraded cable network. PrimaCom provides customers with multi-media services via its own broadband cable network. In all, approximately one third of the PrimaCom networks have been fully upgraded to the latest broadband technology. In Leipzig, Chemnitz, Magdeburg, Aschersleben, and Naumburg PrimaCom already offers 109,500 households attractive high speed Internet access at a flat rate via its own PrimaCom portal (www.cixity.de). Leipzig and the Netherlands are being served with approximately 80 digital TV programmes and other interactive services such as Payper-view TV, and this is soon to be extended to other German cities. With the introduction of digital television PrimaCom has introduced a range of interactive services that use a set-top box as a platform. PrimaCom continues to develop as a multi-media communications company. This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Because these statements apply to future events, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including PrimaCom s absence of an operating history subsequent to the Multikabel Acquisition and ist transformation to a broadband communications company, its possible future need for additional financing, competitive factors and restrictions imposed by existing and possible future debt instruments. (Financial Table to Follow) PrimaCom, press release, p. 5/7
PRIMACOM AG Pro Forma 12 months 12 months 12 months December 31, December 31, December 31, 1999 Euro 000 Euro 000 Euro 000 Revenues 105,949 124,343 148,864 Operating costs and expenses Operations 24,543 30,191 36,441 Selling, general and administrative 18,590 28,584 33,298 Corporate overhead 12,413 17,219 18,176 Depreciation and amortization 61,277 75,530 104,254 Total 116,823 151,524 192,169 Operating loss -10,874-27,181-43,305 Interest expense 15,874 26,173 46,173 Other income (expense) -767 1,690 1,689 Loss from continuing operations Before minority interest and income taxes -27,515-51,664-87,789 Minority interest in net income of subsidiaries 70 94 94 Income tax 1,667 4,258-1,258 Net loss before extraordinary items -29,252-56,016-89,141 Extraordinary items - - -8,308-8,308 NET LOSS -29,252-64,324-97,449 Loss per share - basic and diluted -1.53-3.26-4.94 Weighted average shares 19,156 19,739 19,739 EBITDA 50,403 48,349 60,949 EBITDA margin 47.6% 38.9% 40.9% Adjusted EBITDA 53,160 51,907 64,684 Adjusted EBITDA margin 50.2% 41.7% 43.5% PrimaCom, press release, p. 6/7
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