Stream Communications Reports Full Year 2007 Results

Stream Communications Reports Full Year 2007 Results

WARSAW, Poland, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stream Communications Network & Media Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: SCNWF & FSE: TPJ) ("Stream"), a broadband cable company offering Cable TV, high-speed Internet and VoIP services in Poland, today announced audited results for the year ended December 31, 2007.(1)

   Financial and Operational Highlights   In Canadian dollars    Financial Highlights                              2007              2006                                                        $                 $   Revenue                                      7,376,978         6,472,905   Loss from Operations*                       (3,418,085)       (3,117,236)    Operational Highlights   in revenue generating units -- RGUs   Cable Television RGUs                           60,700            58,673   Internet RGUs                                    7,684             5,716   

* The 2006 Loss from Operations total differs from the amount reported in the 2006 full year results because Foreign exchange was reclassified to financial from operating items.

Stream's president, Mr. Jan S. Rynkiewicz, commented, "In 2007, in addition to continuing to integrate previously made acquisitions and continuing to improve the quality and service offering of the Stream Poland network, critical steps were taken to improve Stream Poland's ability to finance its future acquisition strategy and assure the longer-term viability of its business plan via the agreement with the central European private equity investor, Penta Investments. On closing of the agreement in early 2008, the Penta funding allowed Stream Poland to be recapitalized to provide operational liquidity and enabled Stream Communications to finance a new venture, via its subsidiary, Stream Investments.

"With the Penta agreement in place, Stream and Stream Poland have entered a new phase in their development. For Stream Poland, the foundation now exists to be able to grow more rapidly through acquisition, expanding its customer base and eventually achieving profitability. With each new household served on its network, we can reduce the cost per customer while we work to increase the number of revenue generating services that we provide to those customers. Stream Poland is continuing to improve its service offering, and has begun to implement a full rollout of telephony service in the second half of 2008.

"Finally, through the new venture Stream Investments, Stream Communications will be developing greenfield projects in the cable sector in Poland in areas outside of those served by Stream Poland, investing in enterprises that are at an earlier stage of development."

   2007 FULL YEAR CONSOLIDATED RESULTS    Revenues  

Revenues for 2007 rose 14.0% to $7,376,978 from $6,472,905 in 2006, after adjusting for foreign exchange from Polish Zloty to Canadian dollars. The company increased its customer rates for services because programming and lease costs also increased during the period.

   Table 2: Overall Expenses                                                      2007              2006                                                         $                 $    Revenues                                      7,376,978         6,472,905    Operating expenses    Programming and system lease                 2,723,157         2,408,716    Payroll and related                          2,685,838         2,363,858    Amortization                                 2,159,233         2,388,716    Management and professional fees     (Note 21)                                   1,694,504           777,036    Office expenses                                532,852           328,242    Travel and entertainment                       432,040           292,364    Occupancy costs                                289,217           276,486    Advertising and marketing                      181,327           178,525    Investor relations                              93,842           118,076    Loss on disposal of assets                       3,053            16,013    Stock-based compensation (Note 13)                 -             232,586    Restructuring expenses (Note 16)                   -             209,523                                                10,795,063         9,590,141      Expenses  

Overall expenses for the period increased 15% year over year, to $10,795,063, although the level of expenses as a percentage of revenue in 2007, 146%, remained stable when compared to 148% for the year-ago period.

A 13% rise in programming and system expense is related to the cost of programming provided to customers, due to the rollout of internet services and the purchase of additional bandwidth to accommodate new Internet service direct sales efforts. Subscriber service upgrades to premium programming packages also increased the cost of programming.

Payroll and related fees increased 14% from $2,363,858 to $2,685,838 due to one-time severance payments made in connection with the investment in Stream Poland made by Penta which closed in early 2008.

The 118% increase in management and professional fees and the 48% increase in travel and entertainment expense were also primarily attributable to the advisory services engaged and actions taken to assist in brokering the Penta agreement.

Results from Operations and adjusted EBITDA

Loss from operations (before amortization and other items) for 2007 was $3,418,085 compared to a loss of $3,117,236 for 2006. Loss before income taxes for 2007 improved to negative $3,229,669, from a loss of $4,044,794 in 2006, or an overall improvement of $815,125.

Adjusted EBITDA, defined as operating loss/earnings before amortization and write-down of capital assets, plus other income (expenses), was negative $1,255,799 versus negative $502,984 in 2006. The difference is primarily attributable to transactions with advisors engaged by the company to assist in the completion of the Penta investment which closed subsequent to the end of the year.

   Table 3: Adjusted EBITDA                                                     2007              2006                                                        $                 $   Revenue                                      7,376,978         6,472,905   Loss from Operations                        (3,418,085)       (3,117,236)   Add: Amortization                            2,159,233         2,388,716   Add: Restructuring                                   -           209,523   Add: Loss (gain) on disposal of    assets                                          3,053            16,013   Adjusted EBITDA                             (1,255,799)         (502,984)   

* Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure. The 2006 calculation of Adjusted EBITDA differed because it included the change in Loss from Operations noted on page 1, and a Loss (gain) on foreign exchange that has been reclassified to Financial Expenses/Income.

Net Loss

During the period the company recorded a net loss of $3,107,320. This was a $1,378,573 improvement from the $4,485,893 net loss in 2006.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

As of December 31, 2007, the company had a working capital deficit of $9,586,908, compared to a working capital deficit of $1,787,498 at December 31, 2006. The increase in the deficit of $7,799,410 in 2007 is linked directly to the Penta investment, which caused existing long-term debt of $6,166,566 to become payable upon completion of the transaction. Subsequent to the end of 2007, the debt was repaid.

To finance operations and investments in property, plant and equipment, in the course of the first nine months of 2007 the company made several private placements, raising a total of $1,191,028 through the issuance of 10,200,000 shares and an equivalent amount of warrants, each worth one half share, for a total of 5,100,000 additional shares.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

In 2007 Stream Communications secured a preliminary investment agreement with Penta Investments which closed in February 2008 in which Penta purchased 51% of the equity of Stream Poland. The acquisition is expected to provide the company with the required financial backing to acquire other cable operators in Poland.

In the interim, the Company executed a bond offering in November 2007 to manage cash flow until the investment agreement with Penta was completed. The Company received the first tranche of PLN 9 million, which was repaid within two months of issue at a cost of $157,120.

In the course of 2007, Stream Poland noted some growth in its subscriber base in the existing networks and launched new Internet services. Its cable customers increased by 3% to 60,700, while Internet customers increased by 34% to 7,684.

Regarding the state of the cable industry in Poland in 2007, some maturing of the industry was noted, including more competition in Stream's three core services of cable TV, Internet and telephony. However, Stream Communications believes that internet and telephony services continue to be markets with room to grow, despite the fact that competition from telecom and other players in Internet and telephony services is expected to lead to lower rates in this market segment. If this development continues, it could also lead to higher expectations for subscribers for quality and service offerings, including HDTV and Voice on Demand, which will require significant future investment in infrastructure.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

In February 2008 the Penta Investments acquisition of 51% in Stream Poland closed, and the proceeds of the sale of Stream Poland shares enabled Stream Canada and Stream Poland to repay all external debt.

The Penta funding allowed Stream Poland to be recapitalized to provide operational liquidity, and enabled Stream Communications to finance a new venture, Stream Investments.

To date in 2008 Stream Poland has announced its intention to acquire one as yet unnamed northern Polish cable operator, currently expected to close in January 2009, on which due diligence is ongoing. The company also recently announced the closing of the acquisition of Southern Polish cable operator, Broker-Service sp z o.o. Assuming that these two acquisitions take place as expected, Stream Poland would acquire approximately 40,000 new subscribers, increasing its total subscriber base by 66%.

Stream Poland is also scheduling a launch of telephony on a commercial scale in the second half of 2008 which will complete its "triple play" (television, internet and telephony) service offering to all of its customers. The company continues to expect that offering triple play will enable it to increase revenue generating units (RGUs) while only marginally increasing costs, as the same infrastructure is used to provide all three services.

In May 2008 Stream Communications subsidiary, Stream Investments, entered into an agreement to purchase a new broadband network in Suwalki, northern Poland, and the acquisition is expected to close by May 2009.

The company will be reporting its results for the first and second quarters of 2008 ended March 31, 2008 and June 30, 2008 shortly. Further operational updates will be made at that time.

About Stream Communications

Stream Communications is a broadband cable company that offers cable TV, high-speed Internet and VoIP services in Poland. Stream Communications, together with Penta Investments, controls the 7th largest cable operator in Poland, Stream Communications Sp z o.o., focusing on the densely populated markets of Southern Poland. Via its wholly owned subsidiary Stream Investments Sp z o.o., Stream Communications is developing greenfield projects in the cable sector in Poland.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statement

Except for statements of historical fact, the information presented herein constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include general economic and business conditions, the ability to acquire and develop specific projects, the ability to fund operations and changes in consumer and business consumption habits and other factors over which Stream Communications Network and Media Inc. has little or no control.

(1) Unless otherwise stated, all financial figures discussed in this announcement are prepared in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles, and expressed in Canadian dollars.

                       - Financial Tables to Follow -      Stream Communications Network & Media Inc.   Consolidated balance sheet   as at December 31,   (Expressed in Canadian dollars)                                                      2007              2006                                                        $                 $   Assets   Current assets    Cash and cash equivalents (Note 4)            682,859           764,544    Short-term investments                         29,048            27,921    Accounts receivable, net (Note 5)             256,146           271,282    GST and VAT receivables                       311,998           125,946    Prepaid expenses and other assets     (Note 6)                                     195,948           125,702    Future income tax assets (Note 14)            286,586            24,837                                                1,762,585         1,340,232    Property, plant and equipment, net    (Note 7)                                   12,894,445        11,741,717   Cable TV subscriber base (Note 8)              379,801         1,281,108   Other intangible assets (Note 9)                   -              78,992   Non-current advances (Note 10)                 180,332           180,058   Deposit on acquisition (Note 22)             1,402,580               -                                               16,619,743        14,622,107    Liabilities   Current liabilities    Accounts payable and accrued     liabilities                                5,066,512         2,607,720    Deferred revenue                                3,629             2,792    Bank, leasing and other financing     (Note 11)                                  6,549,352           517,218                                               11,619,493         3,127,730    Bank, leasing and other financing    (Note 11)                                     583,435         5,239,352                                               12,202,928         8,367,082    Non-controlling interest (Note 12)             923,525           985,922    Shareholders' equity   Common shares (Note 13 (b))   Authorized    150,000,000 common shares of no par value    Issued and fully paid                      44,515,479        43,941,186   Contributed surplus                          5,549,744         3,110,060   Warrants (Note 13 (c))                       2,002,699         3,825,648   Accumulated other comprehensive income       1,419,667         1,279,188   Accumulated deficit                        (49,994,299)      (46,886,979)                                                3,493,290         5,269,103                                               16,619,743        14,622,107     All notes referred to correspond to the filing of  the Stream   Communications 2007 Financial Statements filed with SEDAR and the SEC.      Stream Communications Network & Media Inc.   Consolidated statement of operations and deficit   year ended December 31,   (Expressed in Canadian dollars)                                                      2007              2006                                                        $                 $    Revenues                                     7,376,978         6,472,905    Operating expenses    Programming and system lease                2,723,157         2,408,716    Payroll and related                         2,685,838         2,363,858    Amortization                                2,159,233         2,388,716    Management and professional fees     (Note 21)                                  1,694,504           777,036    Office expenses                               532,852           328,242    Travel and entertainment                      432,040           292,364    Occupancy costs                               289,217           276,486    Advertising and marketing                     181,327           178,525    Investor relations                             93,842           118,076    Loss on disposal of assets                      3,053            16,013    Stock-based compensation (Note 13)                -             232,586    Restructuring expenses (Note 16)                  -             209,523                                               10,795,063         9,590,141    Loss from operations                        (3,418,085)       (3,117,236)   Other income (expense)    Standby guarantee (Note 15)                       -            (798,289)    Recovery of IPO expenses                          -                 -    Financing (expense) income                   (231,743)              196    Interest expense                             (443,721)         (297,852)    Other income                                   26,727            74,805    Foreign exchange gain (loss)                  837,153            93,582    Loss before income taxes                    (3,229,669)       (4,044,794)   Income tax (recovery) expense (Note 14)       (162,809)          398,398    Loss before non-controlling interest        (3,066,860)       (4,443,192)   Non-controlling interest (Note 12)              40,460            42,701    Net loss for the year                       (3,107,320)       (4,485,893)   Deficit, beginning of year                 (46,886,979)      (42,401,086)   Deficit, end of year                       (49,994,299)      (46,886,979)    Basic and diluted loss per common share    (Note 17)                                       (0.04)            (0.08)    Basic and diluted weighted average    number of common shares    (Note 17)                                  79,808,820        59,629,483      Stream Communications Network & Media Inc.   Consolidated statement of cash flows   year ended December 31,   (Expressed in Canadian dollars)                                                      2007              2006                                                        $                 $    Operating activities    Net loss for the year                      (3,107,320)       (4,485,893)    Items not involving cash     Amortization                               2,159,233         2,388,716     Loss on disposal of property, plant      and equipment                                 3,053            16,013     Unrealized foreign exchange (gain) loss     (775,333)          (11,916)     Stock-based compensation                         -             232,586     Restructuring expenses                           -              76,378     Issuance of shares for services                  -             681,738     Non-controlling interest                      40,460            42,701     Issuance of shares for standby      guarantee fee                                   -             798,289    Change in non-cash working capital     Accounts receivable                         (170,315)           54,968     Prepaid expenses and other assets           (197,454)         (158,164)     Accounts payable and accrued liabilities   1,280,830          (617,434)     Future income taxes                         (261,711)          (37,823)     Deferred revenue                                 833           (14,515)                                               (1,027,724)       (1,034,356)    Investing activities    Purchase of property, plant and     equipment                                 (2,202,639)       (1,499,949)    Sale of property, plant and equipment         109,629            32,193    Purchase of short-term investments                -             (27,921)    Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of     cash acquired      (Note 12)                                  (319,145)              -                                               (2,412,155)       (1,495,677)    Financing activities    Issuance of shares and warrants for cash    1,191,028         2,349,791    Subscriptions received for private     placement                                         -                 -    Proceeds from loans and leasing     contracts                                  6,885,410           855,213    Repayments of loans and leasing     contracts                                 (4,823,484)         (378,715)                                                3,252,954         2,826,289    Foreign exchange effect on cash and    cash equivalents                              105,240            28,351    (Decrease) increase in cash and cash    equivalents                                   (81,685)          324,607   Cash and cash equivalents, beginning    of year                                       764,544           439,937   Cash and cash equivalents, end of year         682,859           764,544    Accrued deposit on acquisition (Note 22)     1,402,580               -    Supplemental cash flow information    Interest received                              13,622            10,195    Interest paid                                (223,260)         (405,688)    Income taxes paid                            (100,541)          (55,564)  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Stream Communications Network & Media Inc.

CONTACT: Iwona Kozak of Stream Communications, +48-22-842-7666; or Maura
Gedid of Breakstone Group for Stream Communications, +1-646-452-2335,
mgedid@breakstone-group.com

---

Profile: International Entertainment