TIDMAVN

RNS Number : 2213A

Avanti Communications Group Plc

28 May 2019

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THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (THE "ANNOUNCEMENT") IS DEEMED BY THE GROUP TO CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATIONS (EU) NO. 596/2014. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

For immediate release

28 May 2019

Avanti Communications Group plc

Closing of $55.0 million 1.5 Lien Credit Facility

Avanti Communications Group plc (AIM: AVN.L) ("Avanti" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to previous announcements, it has now closed the new $55.0 million two-year 1.5 lien credit facility (the "1.5 Facility").

The 1.5 Facility matures in May 2021 or, if the Company's existing super senior facility (the "Super Senior Facility") is extended, in July 2021. Loans made under the 1.5 Facility will bear PIK interest at an annual rate equal to 12.50%. The 1.5 Facility ranks senior relative to the Company's high yield notes and junior relative to the Company's existing super senior debt under the Super Senior Facility for the priority of payment of enforcement proceeds. The Company will use the proceeds of the loans under the 1.5 Facility to fund capital expenditures and working capital needs of the Company and its subsidiaries.

The Company has also obtained consent from the lenders under the Super Senior Facility to extend, at its election, the maturity to January 2021, subject to the payment of an extension fee. The annual interest rate under the Super Senior Facility has been reset to 9.5%.

Financial Results and Outlook

The Company confirms that the audited financial results for the 18-month period to 31 December 2018 will be published on or around 7 June 2019. As a result of this being later than anticipated, it will not be possible for the accounts to be laid at the Annual General Meeting currently scheduled for 24 June 2019. These financial statements will therefore be laid at a separate general meeting as soon as practicable thereafter.

The Company is also pleased to reconfirm the outlook statement it released on March 28, 2019. Bandwidth revenues for the 12 months to December 2018 are expected to be approximately $32 million. This excludes low margin project and equipment revenues. Bandwidth revenues are forecast to increase by 125% in 2019 and at least a further 40% in 2020. The growth is anticipated to come from Government business on HYLAS 4 and HYLAS 3, once operational.

Underlying costs of delivering bandwidth is around $80 million. However, the Company has instigated a cost optimisation project, which is expected to reduce the costs associated with bandwidth sales by at least 15% per annum by 2020.

These measures should result in a positive EBITDA from the bandwidth business in 2019, with further material growth in 2020.

In addition to the outlook statement released on 28 March 2019, the Company confirms that HYLAS 3 is expected to launch on 24 July 2019 from French Guiana on an Ariane 5 launch. The launch of HYLAS 3 will complete this satellite asset capital expenditure cycle for Avanti, and will bring additional steerable Ka band capacity to the current fleet.

For further information, please contact:

 
Avanti Communications      Nigel Fox Tel: +44 20 7749 1600 
Cenkos Securities (Nomad)  Max Hartley / Katy Birkin 
                            Tel: +44 207 397 8900 
Newgate Communications     Ralph Anderson: +44 20 3757 6883 
 

Important Notices

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Avanti. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect", "believe", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "will", "could", "may", or "might", the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include matters that are not historical facts and statements regarding Avanti's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the expected outcome of the Consent Solicitation. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Avanti cautions you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that Avanti's actual results may differ materially from those described in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. In addition, even if Avanti's results are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in future periods. Avanti does not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements of Avanti, including, among others, general economic conditions, the competitive environment and the many other risks specifically related to Avanti and its operations, including those discussed in this announcement.

This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to, and does not, constitute or form part of any offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities whether pursuant to this announcement or otherwise. The distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about, and observe such restrictions. Any failure to comply with the restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities law of any such jurisdiction.

In particular, this announcement is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933. Any securities mentioned herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, and no public offering will be made in the United States.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

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May 28, 2019 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)

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