Media Central Corporation Report on Financial Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021

TORONTO, May 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Media Central Corporation Inc. ( CSE: FLYY , FSE: 3AT ) ("Media Central" or the "Company" or “we” or “us”) on May 27, 2021, released first quarter financial statements and Management Discussion & Analysis for the quarter ended March 31, 2021.

(Please note that Investors are cautioned against inferring future financial results on the basis of the results as the Company’s two significant operational assets: NOW Magazine and The Georgia Straight have been materially affected by the economic environment resulting from the COVID19 virus since March 2020)

“The results of the first quarter reflect considerable improvements over last year,” said Manos Pavlakis, Chairman of the Board. “We continue to work with management to eliminate the cost of excessive corporate and administrative overhead while, at the same time, restructuring our news and business operations to support new revenue models and digital products. We are seeing signs of improved revenue performance based on advertising trends but not nearly to the degree of a full recovery. We are on track with our new stand-alone digital products, a redesigned video-enabled NOW Magazine web and we expect to be announcing new revenue models in early June that will accelerate our revenue recovery.”

Revenue comparisons for the first quarter must consider the devastating impact of COVID19 on the local economies in Toronto and Vancouver that started in the second half of March 2020 when revenues fell by more than 70 percent. Advertisers continued to struggle to throughout 2020 and into 2021. However, first quarter results show some signs of recovery. Overall, the 40% decline in advertising revenues from $683 to $410 show improvements compared to last year, given the fact that 11 of 13 weeks in Q1 2020 were pre-pandemic. Most of the revenue losses came from print canceled print schedules. Digital ad revenues, which now represent 85% of total revenue, increased 46 percent year over year as media consumers settled into working remotely. The trend of a significant shift from print to digital advertising spending is expected to continue well past the end of the COVID19 pandemic due to steps taken to strengthen the platform and improve the digital offering to readers. Continued innovation will be the key to future success.

PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND NON-IFRS MEASURES

Unless otherwise specified herein, financial results, including historical comparatives contained in this press release are based on Media Central Corporation Inc.’s 2021 Q1 Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and interpretations of the IFRS Interpretations Committee (“IFRIC”). Unless otherwise specified, amounts are in thousands of Canadian dollars and percentage changes are calculated using whole numbers.

In addition to reported IFRS measures, industry practice is to evaluate media companies by considering certain non-IFRS performance measures, such as Adjusted EBITDA, as reported below. For further details, please refer to Non-IFRS Measures.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Select Financial Information

(i) Represents a non-IFRS measure. Media Central's method for calculating non-IFRS measures may differ from other reporting issuers' methods and accordingly may not be comparable. For definitions and basis of presentation of Media Central's non-IFRS measures, refer to the non-IFRS measures section of this press release.
(ii) Total debt is defined as accounts payable and other financial liabilities.
(iii) Debt to total assets is a non-IFRS measure and is calculated as total debt divided by total assets.
(iv) EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA is calculated on a trailing twelve-month basis. Refer to the non-IFRS measures section of this press release for further details.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (cont’d)

Adjusted EBITDA

(i) Refer to non-IFRS measures section of this press release for further details.

Corporate Highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2021

• Revenue trend showing sings of improvement despite ongoing COVID 19 economic challenges. Digital revenues represented 68% of total revenues.
• Selling, distribution and administrative expenses reduced by 63% due to ongoing consolidation, elimination of head office expenses and government assistance programs (wage and rent subsidies).
• On February 8, 2021, certain holders of the convertible debentures exercised their option to convert the debt into common shares, resulting in an issuance of 1,429 common shares.
  

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "potential", "believe", "intend" or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations, expectations with respect to estimated margins, cost structures, and cost structures in the media industry. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments involving; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the media industry generally, income tax and regulatory matters; the ability of Media Central to implement its business strategies; competition; currency and interest rate fluctuations and other risks.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive and should carefully review the various risks and uncertainties identified in the Company's filings on SEDAR. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws.

Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

SOURCE: Media Central Corporation Inc.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

About Media Central Corporation Inc.
Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT) is an alternative media company situated to acquire and develop high-quality publishing assets starting with the recent acquisition of Vancouver Free Press Corp., the purchase of NOW Communications Inc. and the launch of digital cannabis platform CannCentral.com. Media Central is consolidating and digitally monetizing the over 100 million coveted and premium consumers of the approximately 100 alternative urban publications across North America, creating the most powerful audience of influencers.
www.mediacentralcorp.com
Instagram: @mediacentralcorp
Twitter: @mediacentralc
Facebook: Media Central Corp.

About Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp,
Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp., owns and operates Georgia Straight and straight.com. Established in 1967 as the news, lifestyle, and entertainment weekly in Vancouver, the Georgia Straight has been an integral part of the active urban West Coast lifestyle for over 50 years. Reaching over 56 million annual readers, every Thursday in print, and every day at straight.com, Georgia Straight delivers an award-winning editorial package of features, articles, and reviews. Regular coverage includes news, tech, arts, music, fashion, travel, health, cannabis, and food, plus Vancouver's most comprehensive listings of entertainment activities and special events. Vancouver Free Press Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT).
www.straight.com
Instagram: @georgiastraight
Twitter: @georgiastraight
Facebook: @georgiastraight

About NOW Central Communications Inc.
NOW Central Communications Inc. owns and operates NOW Magazine and nowtoronto.com. Since 1981 NOW has been Toronto’s news and entertainment voice, published in print every Thursday, and daily at nowtoronto.com. Reaching over 25 million annual readers, NOW has been a leading publication, defining and pioneering the independent and alternative voice for more than 38 years. NOW Central Communications Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT).
www.nowtoronto.com
Instagram: @nowtoronto
Twitter: @nowtoronto
Facebook: facebook.com/nowmagazine

For comprehensive disclosure of Media Central’s performance reference should be made to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto and Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2020, which have been filed electronically with the Canadian securities regulators through the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (“SEDAR”) website at www.sedar.com.

Contact:
Maria Micieli
Corporate Secretary
mariam@mediacentralcorp.com
416-434-6311