DENVER, Nov. 04, 2020 // GLOBE NEWSWIRE // - Red Lion Hotels Corporation (“RLHC,” “Red Lion,” the “Company”) (NYSE: RLH), a hospitality company doing business as RLH Corporation that franchises midscale and economy hotels, today reported third quarter 2020 results and provided an update regarding financial and operational activities.
Third Quarter Financial Results
Red Lion reported a net loss of $(3.1) million, or $(0.12) per share compared to a net loss of $(3.7) million or $(0.15) per share the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.5 million compared to $5.9 million for the same period in 2019. Core Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes company operated hotels and reflects Red Lion’s primary franchise business, was $1.2 million, compared to $1.9 million in the prior year third quarter.
Red Lion’s balance sheet remained strong with cash and cash equivalents totaling $34.1 million on September 30.
The 2020 financial results reflect reductions in revenue and Adjusted EBITDA from the sale of four company-owned hotels, franchise agreement terminations, as well as the effects of reduced travel due to COVID-19.
Red Lion CEO John Russell stated, “We are pleased with the performance of our brands in the third quarter as they outperformed their competitive sets on RevPAR index as reported by STR. With our franchisees concentrated in drive-to markets, our hotels benefitted from increased travel during the summer months as shelter-in-place restrictions lifted. To help our franchisees drive future profitability, we have continued to enhance our franchise support, including a new more user-friendly revenue-generating program, expanded marketing opportunities, and local sales solutions. Activities such as these contributed to our improved year-over-year franchisee retention.”
Mr. Russell continued, “We are excited that our brand reputation scores have improved across all of our brands, with the strongest gains from Americas Best Value Inn, Canadas Best Value Inn, and Knights Inn. We are also pleased to have our ABVI brand ranked #2 by JD Power for all economy brands. We are focusing our efforts on ensuring the continued success of our franchisees while also maintaining financial discipline through cost controls initiated at the beginning of the year. We are encouraged by our progress particularly in light of the ongoing impact of the pandemic.”
Operating Summary
Through the end of the third quarter, RLHC signed 129 franchise agreements including adding 23 new franchised locations. Progress on ROAR initiatives and the introduction of additional franchise support tools and marketing programs continue to contribute to improved retention rates, with 33% and 26% fewer franchisees leaving the brand than in the prior year third quarter and year to date, respectively. During the quarter, RLHC relaunched GuestHouse International as GuestHouse Extended Stay, targeting efforts to meet demand for longer stays with an economy offering. The Company also launched new franchising initiatives for Americas Best Value Inn and Knights Inn geared toward capitalizing on elevated franchisee movement that typically accompanies industry disruptions such as the current COVID-19 crisis.
Royalties for the third quarter were $4.1 million compared to $5.9 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to terminated hotel agreements and the impact of COVID-19 on midscale brands, which generally pay royalties and marketing fees as a percentage of gross rooms revenue. Royalty revenue mix for the third quarter of 2020 was 71% from economy hotels and 29% from midscale hotels. The 71% of royalty revenue generated from economy hotels is primarily fixed as a per room, per month rate and therefore is less affected by occupancy.
Selling, general, administrative, and other expenses, which include franchise sales, operations and corporate costs, and bad debt expense were $4.7 million, a 43% improvement from $8.4 million in the year-ago period. The improvement was driven by cost containment efforts initiated earlier in 2020 and lower bad debt expense.
Transaction costs for the quarter were $0.9 million, comprised of fees paid to advisors in connection with exploring strategic alternatives.
Strategic Alternatives
As previously disclosed, RLHC has engaged advisors to review and respond to bona fide inquiries received from parties considering an investment in or acquisition of the Company. The Board remains committed to evaluating strategic alternatives that it believes are in the best interest of shareholders, particularly as RLHC has attracted attention from those who recognize that its portfolio of franchised hotels are located in areas that are less impacted by a reduction in leisure travel, and are well positioned to respond quickly to upticks in travel, especially drive-to travel. RHLC does not intend to discuss or disclose further developments during this process until its Board of Directors has approved a specific action or otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate or required.
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
As of September 30, 2020, cash and cash equivalents totaled $34.1 million, a $0.3 million increase from June 30, 2020 and a $2.3 million increase from year-end 2019. The sequential quarter improvement was driven by adjusted EBITDA performance, strong accounts receivable collections, reduced capital and key money outlays, and favorable summer seasonality.
Adjusted free cash flow for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 was $3.0 million as compared to $3.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Cash flow from operations was $(4.6) million and $5.0 million for the same periods, respectively. RLHC has $5.6 million of debt on its balance sheet related to a non-recourse mortgage on the Hotel RL Olympia held in a joint venture in which RLHC holds a 55% equity interest.
Red Lion expects to end the year with approximately $30 million of cash on hand. Fourth quarter net cash outflows include capital expenditures, key money as part of signing new franchise agreements, payment of transaction fees, and the usual seasonally lower cash collections. The Company also expects to benefit from favorable working capital as the previously disclosed sales tax settlements and wage settlement payments totaling an estimated $2.0 to $2.5 million are now expected to be paid in 2021.
Webcast and Conference Call
Red Lion’s senior management team plans to host a webcast and conference call to review its financial results at 9:00 a.m. ET, Thursday, November 5, 2020.
The live webcast can be accessed through the Investor Relations section of RLHC’s website.
For those unable to access the webcast, the conference call will be accessible domestically or internationally, by dialing 877-407-8289 or 201-689-8341, respectively, and requesting the Red Lion Hotel Corporation Third Quarter 2020 Earnings Conference Call.
A replay of the conference call will be available after 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, November 5, 2020 through 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 19, 2020. To access the replay, listeners may use 877-660-6853 (domestic) or 201-612-7415 (international). The passcode for the replay is 13698294. The recorded replay will be available on the Company’s website for one year after the call date.
Red Lion Hotels Corporation is an innovative hotel company doing business as RLH Corporation, which focuses on the franchising of midscale and economy hotels. The Company strives to maximize return on invested capital for hotel owners across North America through relevant brands, industry-leading technology and forward-thinking services. For more information, please visit the company’s website.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities law, including statements concerning operational and financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, plans, objectives, goals, strategies, projections of future events or performance and underlying assumptions (many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions). The forward-looking statements in this press release are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, explorations of possible transactions and strategic alternatives; risks associated with our asset light model; relationships with our franchisees and properties; competitive conditions in the lodging industry; economic cycles; changes in future demand and supply for hotel rooms; international conflicts and conditions; impact of government regulations; ability to obtain financing; changes in energy, healthcare, insurance and other operating expenses; ability to sell non-core assets; the extent and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic; dependency upon the ability and experience of executive officers and ability to retain or replace such officers, as well as other risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and in other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only to the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
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RED LION HOTELS CORPORATION
Additional Hotel Statistics
(unaudited)
A summary of activity relating to our open franchise and company operated hotels by type from January 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020, including the approximate number of available rooms, is provided below:
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A summary of activity relating to our open midscale franchise and company operated hotels by brand from January 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020 is provided below:
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A summary of activity relating to our open economy franchise hotels by brand from January 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020 is provided below:
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A summary of our executed agreements for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 is provided below:
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RED LION HOTELS CORPORATION
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(unaudited)
Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP measured defined as net cash provided by or used in operating activities less capital expenditures. The Company believes it is an important liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business.
Adjusted Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP measure defined as Free Cash Flow adjusted to reflect the impact of certain investing or financing cash flows such as acquisitions, proceeds from dispositions of properties, borrowings and repayments of long-term debt, and distributions to non-controlling interests. We believe this information is necessary as reflecting significant cash flows from strategic investing and financing decisions provides the most accurate overall measure of cash generated or used by the business.
Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are commonly used measures of performance. We utilize these measures because management finds them a useful tool to calculate more meaningful comparisons of past, present and future cash generation and as a means to evaluate the results of core, ongoing operations. We believe they are a complement to reported net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities. Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are not intended to represent net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, investing activities, or financing activities defined by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP"), and such information should not be considered as an alternative to reported information or any other measure of performance prescribed by GAAP. In addition, other companies may calculate Free Cash Flow and, in particular, Adjusted Free Cash Flow differently than we do or may not calculate them at all, limiting the usefulness of Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow as comparative measures.
The following is a reconciliation of GAAP net cash provided by (used in) operating activities to non-GAAP Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):
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EBITDA is defined as net income (loss), before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The Company believes it is a useful financial performance measure due to the significance of our long-lived assets and level of indebtedness.
Adjusted EBITDA is an additional measure of financial performance. The Company believes that the inclusion or exclusion of certain special items, such as stock-based compensation and gains and losses on asset dispositions and impairments, is necessary to provide the most accurate measure of core operating results and as a means to evaluate comparative results.
Adjusted EBITDA also excludes the effect of non-cash stock compensation expense. We believe that the exclusion of this item is consistent with the purposes of the measure described below.
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are commonly used measures of performance in the industry. RLH Corporation utilizes these measures because management finds them a useful tool to calculate more meaningful comparisons of past, present and future operating results and as a means to evaluate the results of core, ongoing operations. Our board of directors and executive management team consider Adjusted EBITDA to be a key performance metric and compensation measure. The Company believes the measures are a complement to reported operating results. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not intended to represent net income (loss) defined by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP"), and such information should not be considered as an alternative to reported information or any other measure of performance prescribed by GAAP. In addition, other companies in the industry may calculate EBITDA and, in particular, Adjusted EBITDA differently than the Company does or may not calculate them at all, limiting the usefulness of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as comparative measures.
Non-Core Adjusted EBITDA includes the results of our Company Operated Hotels. Core Adjusted EBITDA is comprised of franchise and all other results, including all Selling, general, administrative and other expenses. Management believes this presentation provides a meaningful comparison of our financial results as Core Adjusted EBITDA represents the results of our Company as a franchise only business.
The following is a reconciliation of Core and Non-Core GAAP net income (loss) to Core and Non-Core non-GAAP EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended September 30, 2020 (in thousands):
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The following is a reconciliation of Core and Non-Core GAAP net income (loss) to Core and Non-Core non-GAAP EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended September 30, 2019 (in thousands):
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The following is a reconciliation of Core and Non-Core GAAP net income (loss) to Core and Non-Core non-GAAP EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 (in thousands):
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The following is a reconciliation of Core and Non-Core GAAP net income (loss) to Core and Non-Core non-GAAP EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 (in thousands):
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SOURCE RLHC (Red Lion Hotels Corporation)
Red Lion Hotels Corporation is a hospitality company primarily engaged in the franchising, management and ownership of upscale, midscale and economy hotels.