Strong Global Entertainment Reports First Quarter 2024 Operating Results

Strong Global Entertainment, Inc.

Mooresville, N.C., May 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Strong Global Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE American: SGE) (the “Company” or “Strong Global Entertainment”) today announced operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

First Quarter 2024 Highlights

• Revenue increased 11.2% to $11.1 million for the quarter - The acquisition of Innovative Cinema Solutions (“ICS”) and increased product sales contributed favorably to revenue growth.

• Gross profit improved to 24.0% of revenue for the quarter from 23.3% in the prior year with favorable product mix.

• In April 2024, announced a transaction to merge Strong/MDI Screen Systems, Inc. “(Strong/MDI”) with FG Acquisition Corp., a Canadian special purpose acquisition company, which will be renamed Saltire, Inc.

  • Transaction values Strong/MDI at $30 million. Strong Global Entertainment will retain a significant economic stake, participating in the future growth and success of Strong/MDI and Saltire.

• Marketplace momentum for laser upgrades and our international expansion continue to position the Company for growth.
  

Mark Roberson, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The first quarter of 2024 continued the positive trends from 2023 as demand for laser projection and customer upgrade initiatives favorably impact revenue and margins. The ICS acquisition continues to perform, and we believe there are other opportunities in the market to accelerate scale in the services business. The Strong/MDI transaction represents a compelling valuation, and we are very excited to participate in the future growth of Saltire.”
   
Select Financial Highlights

• Revenue increased 11.2% to $11.1 million in the first quarter of 2024 from $10.0 million in the first quarter of 2023 due to increased sales of projection screens and equipment, as well as increased demand for installation and maintenance services. The increase in demand from cinema customers was due to a combination of increased sales efforts, expanded market share and a rebound in the rate of investment by exhibitors for the upgrade of their auditoriums, particularly related to the pace of laser projection upgrades. Strong Global Entertainment expects the upgrade activity to be a multi-year catalyst in the industry.
  
  

• Gross profit increased to $2.7 million or 24.0% of revenues in 2024 compared to $2.3 million or 23.3% in 2023. The increase resulted primarily from increased demand for large format projection cinema screens and maintenance services, and this was the first full quarter of contribution from the ICS acquisition.
  
  

• Income from operations was $0.2 million for the first quarter of 2024 compared to $0.5 million during 2023. We incurred higher general and administrative expenses in connection with operating as an independent public company following the separation in May 2023, which was partially offset by the increase in gross profit.
  
  

• Net income from continuing operations was $0.1 million as compared to $0.6 million in 2023.
  
  

• Adjusted EBITDA decreased to $0.4 million as compared to $0.8 million in the prior year, as increased profitability from products and services from continuing operations was offset by the increased general and administrative costs primarily related to expenses associated with operating as a stand-alone public company.
  

About Strong Global Entertainment, Inc.

Strong Global Entertainment, Inc., a majority owned subsidiary of Fundamental Global Inc., is a leader in the entertainment industry, providing mission critical products and services to cinema exhibitors and entertainment venues for over 90 years. The Company manufactures and distributes premium large format projection screens, provides comprehensive managed services, technical support and related products and services primarily to cinema exhibitors, theme parks, educational institutions, and similar venues. In addition to traditional projection screens, the Company manufactures and distributes its Eclipse curvilinear screens, which are specially designed for theme parks, immersive exhibitions, as well as simulation applications. It also provides maintenance, repair, installation, network support services and other services to cinema operators, primarily in the United States.

About Fundamental Global Inc.

Fundamental Global Inc. (Nasdaq: FGF, FGFPP) and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including reinsurance, asset management, merchant banking, manufacturing and managed services.

The FG^® logo and Fundamental Global^® are registered trademarks of Fundamental Global LLC.

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

Strong Global Entertainment, Inc. prepares its consolidated financial statements in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). In addition to disclosing financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP, the Company discloses information regarding Adjusted EBITDA (“Adjusted EBITDA”), which differs from the commonly used EBITDA (“EBITDA”). Adjusted EBITDA both adjusts net income (loss) to exclude income taxes, interest, and depreciation and amortization, and excludes share-based compensation, impairment charges, severance, foreign currency transaction gains (losses), transactional gains and expenses, gains on insurance recoveries, and other cash and non-cash charges and gains.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measures of performance defined in accordance with GAAP. However, Adjusted EBITDA is used internally in planning and evaluating the Company’s operating performance. Accordingly, management believes that disclosure of these metrics offers investors, bankers and other stakeholders an additional view of the Company’s operations that, when coupled with the GAAP results, provides a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial results.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) or to net cash from operating activities as measures of operating results or liquidity. The Company’s calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies, and the measures exclude financial information that some may consider important in evaluating the Company’s performance.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation, or as substitutes for analysis of the Company’s results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are: (i) they do not reflect the Company’s cash expenditures, or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments, (ii) they do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, the Company’s working capital needs, (iii) EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on the Company’s debt, (iv) although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements, (v) they do not adjust for all non-cash income or expense items that are reflected in the Company’s statements of cash flows, (vi) they do not reflect the impact of earnings or charges resulting from matters management considers not to be indicative of the Company’s ongoing operations, and (vii) other companies in the Company’s industry may calculate these measures differently than the Company does, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.

Management believes EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period by isolating the effects of some items that vary from period to period without any correlation to core operating performance or that vary widely among similar companies. These potential differences may be caused by variations in capital structures (affecting interest expense), tax positions (such as the impact on periods or companies of changes in effective tax rates or net operating losses) and the age and book depreciation of facilities and equipment (affecting relative depreciation expense). The Company also presents EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA because (i) management believes these measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in the Company’s industry, (ii) management believes investors will find these measures useful in assessing the Company’s ability to service or incur indebtedness, and (iii) management uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA internally as benchmarks to evaluate the Company’s operating performance or compare the Company’s performance to that of its competitors.

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to the historical information included herein, this press release contains “forward-looking statements” that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “seek,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “aim,” “should,” “will” “would,” or the negative of these words or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the final prospectus related to the public offering filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and the Company undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.

Investor Relations Contacts:       
IR@strong-entertainment.com

Strong Global Entertainment, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)

		March 31, 2024				December 31, 2023
			(Unaudited)
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents		$	5,111			$	5,470
Accounts receivable, net			6,299				6,476
Inventories, net			4,446				4,079
Assets of discontinued operations			-				940
Other current assets			1,264				1,062
Total current assets			17,120				18,027
Property, plant and equipment, net			1,488				1,592
Operating lease right-of-use assets			4,697				4,793
Finance lease right-of-use asset			1,136				1,201
Goodwill			881				903
Other long-term assets			26				10
Total assets		$	25,348			$	26,526
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable		$	3,642			$	3,544
Accrued expenses			2,975				3,112
Payable to FG Group Holdings Inc.			119				129
Short-term debt			2,453				2,456
Current portion of long-term debt			271				270
Current portion of operating lease obligations			403				397
Current portion of finance lease obligations			258				253
Deferred revenue and customer deposits			1,867				1,318
Liabilities of discontinued operations			161				1,392
Total current liabilities			12,149				12,871
Operating lease obligations, net of current portion			4,361				4,460
Finance lease obligations, net of current portion			904				971
Long-term debt, net of current portion			234				301
Deferred income tax liabilities, net			135				125
Other long-term liabilities			4				4
Total liabilities			17,787				18,732
Commitments, contingencies and concentrations
Stockholders' Equity:
Preferred stock			-				-
Paid-in-capital related to Class A and Class B common stock			15,814				15,740
Accumulated deficit			(2,785	)			(2,712	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss			(5,468	)			(5,234	)
Total stockholders' equity			7,561				7,794
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity		$	25,348			$	26,526

Strong Global Entertainment, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2024				2023
Net product sales		$	8,022			$	7,204
Net service revenues			3,048				2,747
Total net revenues			11,070				9,951
Cost of products			5,938				5,465
Cost of services			2,475				2,166
Total cost of revenues			8,413				7,631
Gross profit			2,657				2,320
Selling and administrative expenses:
Selling			518				534
Administrative			1,959				1,240
Total selling and administrative expenses			2,477				1,774
Income from operations			180				546
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net			(115	)			(56	)
Foreign currency transaction gain			162				117
Other income, net			25				12
Total other income			72				73
Income from continuing operations before income taxes			252				619
Income tax expense			(133	)			(55	)
Net income from continuing operations			119				564
Net loss from discontinued operations			(192	)			(191	)
Net (loss) income		$	(73	)		$	373
Basic net (loss) income per share:
Continuing operations		$	0.01			$	0.09
Discontinued operations			(0.02	)			(0.03	)
Basic net (loss) income per share		$	(0.01	)		$	0.06
Diluted net (loss) income per share:
Continuing operations		$	0.01			$	0.09
Discontinued operations			(0.02	)			(0.03	)
Diluted net (loss) income per share		$	(0.01	)		$	0.06
Weighted-average shares used in computing net (loss) income per share:
Basic			7,877				6,000
Diluted			7,883				6,000

Strong Global Entertainment, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2024				2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income from continuing operations		$	119			$	564
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities:
Provision for (recovery of) doubtful accounts			18				(18	)
Provision for obsolete inventory			14				14
Provision for warranty			10				44
Depreciation and amortization			153				179
Gain on acquisition of ICS assets			(23	)			-
Amortization and accretion of operating leases			158				16
Deferred income taxes			10				(19	)
Stock-based compensation expense			74				18
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable			527				593
Inventories			(419	)			(284	)
Current income taxes			102				130
Other assets			(216	)			(418	)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses			(693	)			(135	)
Deferred revenue and customer deposits			555				618
Operating lease obligations			(154	)			(19	)
Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations			235				1,283
Net cash used in operating activities from discontinued operations			(492	)			(513	)
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities			(257	)			770
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures			(22	)			(75	)
Net cash used in investing activities from continuing operations			(22	)			(75	)
Net cash used in investing activities from discontinued operations			-				(83	)
Net cash used in investing activities			(22	)			(158	)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Principal payments on short-term debt			(21	)			(250	)
Principal payments on long-term debt			(67	)			(9	)
Borrowings under credit facility			2,839				1,596
Repayments under credit facility			(2,765	)			(225	)
Payments on finance lease obligations			(61	)			(25	)
Net cash transferred to parent			-				(1,217	)
Net cash used in financing activities from continuing operations			(75	)			(130	)
Net cash provided by financing activities from discontinued operations			-				-
Net cash used in financing activities			(75	)			(130	)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents			(5	)			(20	)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents from continuing operations			133				1,058
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents from discontinued operations			(492	)			(596	)
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents			(359	)			462
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period			5,470				3,615
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period		$	5,111			$	4,077

Strong Global Entertainment, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2024				2023
Net (loss) income		$	(73	)		$	373
Net loss from discontinued operations			192				191
Net income from continuing operations			119				564
Interest expense, net			115				56
Income tax expense			133				55
Depreciation and amortization			153				179
EBITDA			520				854
Stock-based compensation expense			74				18
Adjust gain on purchase of ICS			(23	)			-
Foreign currency transaction loss (gain)			(162	)			(117	)
Adjusted EBITDA		$	409			$	755