Penn National Gaming updates timing for filing restated financials

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Penn National Gaming, Inc. today provided an update 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. on November 1, 2013.

As noted in the Company’s February 4, 2016 fourth quarter earnings release, the Company plans to file its 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K on March 15, 2016, by which time the Company will also make the other outstanding restatement filings. The brief extension will permit the Company to ensure consistency throughout the reporting periods for the various adjustments described in the Company’s February 4, 2016 fourth quarter earnings release, and to reclassify one additional lease to capital lease treatment, which will result in the Company reporting approximately $25 million in additional debt on its balance sheet. As a result, the Company now intends to submit all the restated filings by March 15, 2016.

The Company’s cash flows for all prior and future periods are not affected by the changes in accounting, nor will its current tax treatment with respect to the Spin-off transaction. In addition, the adjustments in the Restatement will not have a significant impact on 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) and it will have no future impact on the following indicators of the Company’s performance:
—the Company’s cash position;
—the Company’s revenues from continuing operations; or
—the Company’s rental payments or other obligations under the Master Lease.

Penn National Gaming Chief Financial Officer, Saul Reibstein, noted, “We thank the Company’s shareholders and lenders for their patience during this process and we’re confident that the additional time will ensure that there are no inconsistencies throughout the reporting periods. As we move toward the conclusion of the filing of the restated and 2015 financial results, our operating and corporate teams remain focused on growth initiatives in terms of enhancing current operations and profitably growing market share in key markets, generating new operating efficiencies, and the continuation of our expansion initiatives, all of which position us for further financial growth in fiscal 2016.”