Bull Run Corporation Announces Fiscal Year Results
November 30 2004 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
Bull Run Corporation Announces Fiscal Year Results ATLANTA, Nov. 30
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bull Run Corporation (OTC:BULL) today
announced a net loss of $14.6 million for its fiscal year ended
August 31, 2004, compared to a net loss of $38.0 million for the
prior fiscal year. The net loss for the fourth quarter ended August
31, 2004 was $5.5 million, compared to $27.0 million for the
comparable period in the prior year. In August 2004, the Company
announced that it was discontinuing its Affinity Events business
segment to focus on its core, historically-profitable operations,
consisting of its Collegiate, Association Management and
Printing/Publishing business units. The loss from discontinued
operations was $2.8 million in the recently completed quarter, and
$7.5 million for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2004. Current
fiscal year results were also unfavorably affected by a $3.3
million non-cash goodwill impairment charge. Prior fiscal year
results were unfavorably affected by a $30.5 million non- cash
goodwill and acquisition intangibles impairment charge and a $5.2
million deferred tax provision to fully reserve the net carrying
amount of deferred tax assets, and were favorably affected by a
$9.4 million gain on the disposition of investments, net of other
non-cash charges associated with investment assets. The Company's
operating subsidiary, Host Communications, Inc., generated revenues
from continuing operations for the fourth quarter and fiscal year
ended August 31, 2004 of $7.2 million and $55.8 million,
respectively, compared to $8.5 million and $64.1 million for the
fourth quarter and fiscal year ended August 31, 2003, respectively.
The decline compared to the prior year was due primarily to the
termination of certain of the Company's collegiate contracts at the
end of the 2003 fiscal year. The Company has entered into new
multi-year contracts for multi-media marketing rights with the
University of Arizona and Oklahoma State University which began
generating revenue in September 2004, and recently announced a
ten-year extension of its multi-media marketing rights agreement
with the University of Kentucky. The Company has also recently
extended its contract to manage CrossSphere (formerly, the National
Tour Association), the nearly 4,000-member global association for
the packaged travel industry, for an additional three years though
2007. The Company also recently entered into an agreement to sell
assets associated with the Hoop-It-Up 3-on-3 basketball tour and
the 3v3 Soccer Shootout tour. These tours were the primary
components of the Company's discontinued Affinity Events business
segment. The transaction is subject to conditions to closing and is
expected to close within the next 30 days. Robert S. Prather, Jr.,
the Company's President and CEO commented, "With the recent
discontinuation and agreement to sell our Events business, we are
now poised to focus on our core Collegiate and Association
relationships. We are very pleased with what Tom Stultz, our new
CEO at HOST, has brought to the Company. Since arriving in August,
he has been faced with some tough decisions in order to eliminate
losses and reduce overhead costs, while re- establishing key
business partner relationships. We are very excited about the
addition of our new Collegiate properties and the recent extensions
of some key contracts, and we look forward to aggressively pursuing
new opportunities with both our existing properties as well as
other universities, collegiate conferences and associations." Bull
Run, through its wholly-owned operating company, Host
Communications, Inc., provides comprehensive sales, marketing,
multimedia, special event and convention/hospitality services to
NCAA Division I universities and conferences and national/global
associations. Bull Run's common stock is quoted on the Pink Sheets
( http://www.pinksheets.com/ ), a centralized quotation service for
OTC securities, using the symbol "BULL". Additional company
information and stock quotes are available on the Company's
corporate web site at http://www.bullruncorp.com/ . Forward-Looking
Statements Certain statements in this press release are "forward
looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are not guaranties
of future performance and actual results may differ materially from
those forecasted. Summarized financial results for each of the
three months and years ended August 31, 2004 and 2003 follow: BULL
RUN CORPORATION Comparative Results of Operations (in thousands,
except per share amounts) Three Months Ended Year Ended August 31,
August 31, 2004 2003 2004 2003 Revenue from services rendered
$7,168 $8,546 $55,779 $64,129 Operating costs and expenses: Direct
operating costs for services rendered 3,670 5,221 35,699 42,603
Selling, general and administrative 4,784 4,928 18,220 20,397
Amortization and impairment of acquisition intangibles 314 21,316
4,554 22,141 8,768 31,465 58,473 85,141 Loss from operations
(1,600) (22,919) (2,694) (21,012) Equity in losses of affiliated
companies (51) (204) Loss on issuance of shares by affiliate
(2,339) Gain on disposition of investments 17,150 17,150 Reduction
in valuation of investments in affiliates (2,562) (5,189) Net
change in value of certain derivatives 347 673 1,294 (1,035) Debt
issue cost amortization (293) (628) (1,171) (2,367) Interest and
other, net (1,162) (2,037) (4,566) (8,226) Pretax loss from
continuing operations (2,708) (10,374) (7,137) (23,222) Income tax
provision (5,222) (5,222) Loss from continuing operations (2,708)
(15,596) (7,137) (28,444) Discontinued operations (2,755) (11,445)
(7,474) (9,542) Net loss (5,463) (27,041) (14,611) (37,986)
Preferred dividends (579) (321) (2,237) (1,149) Net loss available
to common stockholders $(6,042) $(27,362) $(16,848) $(39,135) Loss
per share available to common stockholders, basic and diluted:
Continuing operations $(0.65) $(3.86) $(2.01) $(7.42) Discontinued
operations (0.55) (2.77) (1.60) (2.40) Net loss $(1.20) $(6.63)
$(3.61) $(9.82) Weighted average number of common shares
outstanding, basic and diluted 5,034 4,129 4,668 3,987 DATASOURCE:
Bull Run Corporation CONTACT: Robert S. Prather, Jr., President
& Chief Executive Officer, +1-404-266-8333, or Frederick J.
Erickson, VP-Finance & Chief Financial Officer,
+1-859-226-4376, both of Bull Run Corporation; or Thomas J. Stultz,
President & Chief Executive Officer of Host Communications,
Inc., +1-859-226-4356 Web site: http://www.bullruncorp.com/
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