RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Fill me!!"Teflon...EBITDA is interchangeable with 'Operating Earnings'"
It most certainly is not. EBITDA, unlike OE excludes one of the major expenses of any business that derives it revenue directly from hardware, and that is the hardware itself. I think that would make OE and EBITDA not be any where near interchangeable to anyone that knew what they were talking about and does not do business in back alleys.
"It is the amount of money that the operations of the entity produces without taking into account interest payments, accounting decisions or tax position."
I think you missed quite a bit with your breakout definition.
NonIFRS Measures – Poydras Gaming Finance Corp.:
Adjusted EBITDA is a financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before financing costs, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock based compensation, unrealized foreign exchange, impairment of loans receivable, gain/loss on settlement of loans payable, gain/loss on disposal of assets, and non-recurring costs. In addition, to arrive at adjusted EBITDA, the Company is adjusting its earnings for finance lease receivable reduction and its 50% share of the above mentioned income/expense and gain/loss categories that are included in the Company's income from equity accounted investees. "It is very difficult to manipulate EBITDA "
EBITDA has no standardized meaning therefore it can be anything that the author wants it to be therefore it is a perfect catalyst for manipulation. That is why IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) and GAAP ( Generally Accepted Accounting Principle) reject it's use and Charlie Munger fondly refers to it as "Bullshit earnings". If that list is too short then I can give you one that will keep you reading for hours from just about every credible financial mind in the world that will clearly state that EBITDA and other analytical tools are useful when used in conjunction with Earnings but in no way shape or form are a substitute for it and are near useless when used without it. A company can be EBITDA positive in bankruptcy court, for heavens sake..And that is where the problem lies with this company.
I have absolutely no problem with EBITDA or any other tool to aid in the analysis of the relevance of the Bottom Line, but when a company attempts to use it as a substitute for it, then I view that as nothing short of deception. I will tell you straight out when someone chooses to go that route when trying to do business with me, then I will assure you that they will be shown the door in short order.
In closing, I was contacted by a representative of the company to which I strongly believe is aware of my financial and business standing and apparently also monitors this board, and they wanted to know if I was interested in having a sit down with management. To that gentleman I will give you my answer that is consistent with this post and every other post I have made on this subject. The day that this company chooses to talk straight and I happen to like what I hear, is the day that I may start to consider it... but not one day before that. To be a little more straight to the point, when you give your press release for the Q4/Yearly report do feel free to include any tool for analysis that you care to include but just don't forget that trivial little bit of data called the "Earnings" this time. Also, stop constantly referring to the slot machines as "Revenue generating machines". It is like you are talking to a child. I think everyone that is out of diapers is well aware that slot machines do not play for free. That is of course unless you also constantly refer to airplanes as "Airplanes that fly high in the air", so as to not have the reader confuse them with those airplanes that only roll on the ground.