Penn National Gaming updates timing for SEC filing

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Penn National Gaming, Inc. provided an update today on the expected timing for the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the restatement of its financial statements filed since the spin-off of its real estate assets to Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI) on November 1, 2013. Penn National now expects to submit the restated filings by no later than February 29, 2016, the date by which its audited financial statements for the year-ended December 31, 2015 are due.

As previously disclosed, the Restatement arose from the Company’s change in the classification of its Master Lease with GLPI from an operating lease to a financing obligation. The updated timing for the submission of the restated filings reflects an ongoing review undertaken in connection with the Restatement. While this review is ongoing, the Company currently expects to make adjustments to its previously recorded 2014 and 2013 goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges, to report the fees paid to relocate its Ohio racetracks as an indefinite lived intangible asset as opposed to a depreciating asset, and to report Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge and Hollywood Casino Perryville, which were spun off to GLPI, as discontinued operations.

The Company’s cash flows for all prior and future periods will not be affected by any of the above-noted changes in accounting, nor will its current tax treatment with respect to the Spin-off transaction. In addition, the adjustments in the Restatement will have no impact on the following indicators of the Company’s performance:
—the Company’s cash position;
—the Company’s leverage ratios under its senior credit facility and other debt instruments (as the terms of those obligations require the Master Lease to be treated as an operating lease regardless of the treatment required under GAAP);
—the Company’s revenues from continuing operations; or
—the Company’s rental payments or other obligations under the Master Lease.

As previously disclosed, the Company also anticipates that, as a result of the change in lease classification, it will report additional liabilities which represent the present value of the future minimum lease payments to GLPI under the Master Lease. The Company approximates this liability will amount to $3.58 billion as of September 30, 2015.

On November 13, 2015, the Company disclosed that it received a notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market that it is not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) because the Company did not file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 in a timely manner. Penn National also confirmed today that it will submit a plan to regain compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements by January 8, 2016. This plan is expected to extend compliance for an additional 180 days. Further, the Company is currently in discussions with its lenders under the Company’s senior secured credit facility to secure a waiver to further extend the period for the Company to file its financial statements for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Reiterates 2015 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Guidance

Penn National also announced today that, based on the performance of the business to date in the fourth quarter of 2015, it is reiterating the Company’s 2015 fourth quarter and full year financial guidance initially provided on October 22, 2015. The Company continues to expect that net revenues and Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ending December 31, 2015 will be $722.5 million and $181.6 million, respectively. For the full year ending December 31, 2015, the Company expects to report net revenues of $2,786.3 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $754.5 million.