Drive Shack Announces First Quarter 2019 Results and Declares Second Quarter 2019 Preferred Stock Dividends

Company announces 1 new Drive Shack location and confirms three new
venue openings in 2019

Has closed sales of 18 golf courses for $132 million to date

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Drive Shack Inc. (NYSE: DS), an owner and operator of golf entertainment
and dining venues and traditional golf courses, today announced
financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2019.

Business Highlights

  • Drive Shack

    • Entered into new partnership with Trackman, the leading provider
      of radar-based ball tracking
    • Announced Drive Shack location in Minneapolis, MN
    • Hired Head of Architecture to lead design of future Drive Shack
      venues
    • Drive Shack Orlando, which opened in April 2018, generated $1.7
      million of revenue in Q1 2019, up 11% compared to Q4
    • Raleigh, Richmond and West Palm Beach locations on track to open
      in the second half of 2019
  • American Golf Corporation

    • Total golf proceeds of $132 million from the sale of 18 courses
    • American Golf Corporation Q1 2019 revenue generation of $52 million
    • Grew public course The Players Club Members by 14% and private
      course average membership Dues by 2%, on a same-store basis over
      prior year
  • Company adds 2 new members, Virgis Colbert and Ben Crane, to the Board
    of Directors

“We are pleased to see Drive Shack Orlando’s improved performance
compared to the prior quarter. We are on track to open Raleigh, Richmond
and West Palm Beach in the second half of this year, and we are thrilled
to announce a new Drive Shack location in Minneapolis, MN,” said Ken
May, Chief Executive Officer. “We continue to refine our blueprint for
site-level operations, using Orlando as the test kitchen for new ideas,
ahead of the next three site openings. Guest experience is the priority.
The implementation of Trackman ball tracking technology at all of our
sites and the menu redesign rollout are just a couple ways we are
enhancing the experience.”

“We continue to make strides optimizing our American Golf portfolio and
expect the stabilized business to generate $175M in total revenue by
2020. In terms of course sales, we generated $132 million in gross
proceeds from the sale of 18 owned golf courses and expect approximately
$42 million additional gross proceeds across 5 courses in contract or
LOI. We will use these proceeds to fund our entertainment golf business
and expect to have 20 sites open by 2022,” said David Hammarley, Chief
Financial Officer. “Overall, I’m confident that our world class
operating team will execute on our business plan and hit the financial
targets we’ve set. With our team and operating costs largely in place,
we expect overall company G&A costs to scale down to 5-10% of total
revenues over the next few years as the business scales up.”

Development

Since the last earnings release on March 14, 2019, the Company signed a
new location in Minneapolis, MN. The Company plans to open 3 new Drive
Shack sites in Raleigh, NC, Richmond, VA, and West Palm Beach, FL in the
second half of 2019.

Board Members

The management team is excited to announce the addition of Virgis
Colbert and Ben Crane to The Board of Directors to further drive the
growth of the business.

Virgis Colbert, who will also serve on the Board’s Audit and
Compensation Committees, has significant operational experience
including Executive Vice President of Worldwide Operations at Miller
Brewing Company. Mr. Colbert’s business acumen and proven track record
earned him roles as the Director of the NASDAQ exchange and a Board seat
on several Fortune 500 companies. He is a lifetime member of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and was named
a national honorary member of the 100 Black Men of America. As an avid
fan of golf, Virgis is a member of two of the most prestigious golf
clubs in America.

Ben Crane, who will also serve on the Board’s Compensation Committee, is
an American professional golfer, who has been a member of the PGA tour
since December 2001 and captured five PGA tour wins. Mr. Crane is
actively involved in several charities, which includes founding the
Crane Foundation, whose mission is to help others reach new heights and
levels of achievement and spirituality in their lives. His charity
supports several other nonprofits including the College Golf Fellowship,
Forward Edge International, H.O.P.E Farm Inc., Love146 Inc., the St.
Bernard Project and Young Life.

Sarah Watterson resigned from the Board on May 7, 2019 to focus on other
professional pursuits. “We’re grateful for Sarah’s contributions in
creating Drive Shack. I wish her all the best, and I am confident that
her leadership will be greatly valued in future endeavors,” said Ken May.

Financial Outlook

Our FY 2019 expectations and stabilized targets are as follows:

  • Drive Shack Orlando site is targeted to break even from a cash flow
    perspective in 2019 and continue to ramp up its revenues and cash flow
    generation in 2020 onwards
  • Raleigh, Richmond, and West Palm Beach planned to open in the second
    half of 2019 and expect to generate revenues and EBITDA consistent
    with target unit economics starting in 2020
  • Plan to open 3 to 5 new sites in 2020 and 5 to 10 sites in 2021 and
    2022
  • Targeting 20+ open sites in 2022
  • Stabilized target Drive Shack entertainment unit economics:

    • Cost to build between $20 to $35 million across the varying
      markets and relevant venue formats
    • Top-line revenues anticipated to be $15 to $25 million with
      targeted EBITDA margins of approximately 25%-30%
  • Stabilized traditional golf business to generate revenue of
    approximately $175 million and target annual course-level EBITDA
    margins of 15-20% in 2020 and beyond
  • Complete the remaining short-term course sales by end of 2019 with
    total gross proceeds of approximately $175 million from 24 of the 26
    owned courses

    • Continue to explore the monetization of the remaining 2 owned
      courses in 2019
  • Target total Company G&A of 5-10% of total Revenue by 2022

Preferred Stock Dividends

The Company will pay dividends on July 31, 2019 to holders of record of
preferred stock on July 1, 2019, for the period beginning May 1, 2019
and ending July 31, 2019, in an amount equal to $0.609375, $0.503125 and
$0.523438 per share on the 9.750% Series B, 8.050% Series C and 8.375%
Series D preferred stock, respectively.

Financial Results

First Quarter 2019 compared to the First Quarter 2018 ($ in
thousands, except for per share data):

     
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2019     2018
Total revenues $ 53,952   $ 66,660  
Loss applicable to common stockholders $ (15,995 ) $ (17,690 )
 
Basic $ (0.24 ) $ (0.26 )
Diluted $ (0.24 ) $ (0.26 )
 

Conference Call Today

Management will hold a conference call to discuss these results today at
9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call can be accessed over the
phone by dialing 1-866-913-6930 (from within the U.S.) or 1-409-983-9881
(from outside of the U.S.) ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of
the call; please reference conference ID “8038894.”

A copy of the earnings release will be posted to the Investor Relations
section of Drive Shack Inc.’s website, http://ir.driveshack.com.

A simultaneous webcast of the conference call will be available to the
public on a listen-only basis at http://ir.driveshack.com.
Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the website and
download any necessary software required to listen to the internet
broadcast.

A telephonic replay of the conference call will also be available two
hours following the call’s completion through 11:30 P.M. Eastern Time on
Friday, May 24, 2019 by dialing 1-800-585-8367 (from within the U.S.) or
1-404-537-3406 (from outside of the U.S.); please reference conference
ID “8038894.”

Additional Information

For additional information that management believes to be useful for
investors, please refer to the presentation posted on the Investor
Relations section of the Company’s website, http://ir.driveshack.com.
For consolidated information, please refer to the Company’s most recent
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, which
are available on the Company’s website, http://ir.driveshack.com.

About Drive Shack

Drive Shack Inc. is a leading owner and operator of golf-related leisure
and entertainment businesses.

Forward-Looking Statements: Certain items in this Press Release
may constitute forward looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not
limited to, statements regarding Drive Shack Inc.’s (NYSE: DS; “DS Inc.”
or the “Company” and “we,” “us” and “our,” as applicable) (a) statements
relating to returns on our investments, (b) anticipated future sales of
selected owned golf properties, including without limitation statements
relating to the timing and amount of anticipated proceeds, (c) our plans
and expectations to optimize the operation of, and grow, our existing
leased and managed golf properties, (d) redeployment of cash from our
generated liquidity, (e) targeted multiples, yields and returns, (f) our
ability to terminate or restructure leases and (g) the Company’s current
business plan and expectations relating to our Drive Shack venues,
including (i) the number of venues that we may be able to develop, (ii)
timing and frequency for opening venues, (iii) financial performance of
these venues and capital expenditure costs, (iv) the growth of the golf,
golf entertainment, and eatertainment industry and business, and (v) our
ability to enhance technology. These statements are based on
management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a
number of risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking
statements, many of which are beyond our control. We cannot give any
assurances that management’s current expectations will be attained. For
a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking
statements, see the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations” in the Company’s periodic reports filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are available on the Company’s
website (www.http://ir.driveshack.com).
In addition, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and
it is not possible to predict or assess the impact of every factor that
may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any
forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue
reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this Press
Release. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this
Press Release. We expressly disclaim any obligation to release publicly
any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained
herein to reflect any change in expectations with regard thereto or
change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is
based.

Past Performance; No Offer; No Reliance: Past performance is not
a reliable indicator of future results and should not be relied upon as
the basis for making an investment decision. This Press Release does not
constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any
security. Any such offer would only be made by means of formal offering
documents, the terms of which would govern in all respects. You should
not rely on this Press Release as the basis upon which to make any
investment decision.

The Company has not reconciled its EBITDA targets set forth in this
press release to net income (loss) or cash from operations, as items
that impact such measures are out of the Company’s control and/or cannot
be reasonably predicted. Accordingly, a reconciliation is not available
without unreasonable effort.

Cautionary Note regarding Estimated / Targeted Returns and Growth:
Targeted returns and growth represent management’s view and are
estimated based on current and projected future operating performance of
our location in Orlando and other targeted locations, comparable
companies in our industry and a variety of other assumptions, many of
which are beyond our control, that could prove incorrect. As a result,
actual results may vary materially with changes in our liquidity or
ability to obtain financing, changes in market conditions and additional
factors described in our reports filed with the SEC, which we encourage
you to review. We undertake no obligation to update these estimates. See
above for more information on forward-looking statements.

         

Consolidated Balance Sheets

 
(Unaudited)
March 31, 2019 December 31, 2018
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 49,599 $ 79,235
Restricted cash 3,365 3,326
Accounts receivable, net 5,635 7,518
Real estate assets, held-for-sale, net 51,931 75,862
Real estate securities, available-for-sale 3,007 2,953
Other current assets   20,331     20,505  
Total current assets 133,868 189,399
Restricted cash, noncurrent 258 258
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation 157,636 132,605
Operating lease right-of-use assets 223,278
Intangibles, net of accumulated amortization 20,952 48,388
Other investments 22,956 22,613
Other assets   5,043     8,684  
Total assets $ 563,991   $ 401,947  
 
Liabilities and Equity
Current liabilities
Obligations under finance leases $ 6,790 $ 5,489
Membership deposit liabilities 8,834 8,861
Accounts payable and accrued expenses 37,740 45,284
Deferred revenue 14,738 18,793
Real estate liabilities, held-for-sale 813 2,947
Other current liabilities   29,277     22,285  
Total current liabilities 98,192 103,659
Credit facilities and obligations under finance leases – noncurrent 13,185 10,489
Operating lease liabilities – noncurrent 190,229
Junior subordinated notes payable 51,198 51,200
Membership deposit liabilities, noncurrent 92,603 90,684
Deferred revenue, noncurrent 5,445 6,016
Other liabilities   3,076     5,232  
Total liabilities $ 453,928   $ 267,280  
 
Commitments and contingencies
 
Equity

Preferred stock, $0.01 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized,
1,347,321 shares

of 9.75% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, 496,000
shares of 8.05%
Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred
Stock, and 620,000 shares of 8.375% Series
D Cumulative
Redeemable Preferred Stock, liquidation preference $25.00 per
share,
issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2019 and
December 31, 2018

61,583 61,583

Common stock, $0.01 par value, 1,000,000,000 shares authorized,
67,027,104 and

67,027,104 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2019 and
December 31, 2018,
respectively

670 670
Additional paid-in capital 3,177,065 3,175,843
Accumulated deficit (3,131,133 ) (3,105,307 )
Accumulated other comprehensive income   1,878     1,878  
Total equity $ 110,063   $ 134,667  
 
Total liabilities and equity $ 563,991   $ 401,947  
 
     

Consolidated Statements of Operations

 
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2019     2018
Revenues
Golf operations $ 44,706 $ 53,554
Sales of food and beverages   9,246     13,106  
Total revenues   53,952     66,660  
Operating costs
Operating expenses 47,723 57,379
Cost of sales – food and beverages 2,698 4,040
General and administrative expense 11,619 9,192
Depreciation and amortization 4,924 5,548
Pre-opening costs 1,179 1,556
Impairment 4,088 1,473
Realized and unrealized (gain) on investments       (242 )
Total operating costs   72,231     78,946  
Operating loss (18,279 ) (12,286 )
 
Other income (expenses)
Interest and investment income 344 446
Interest expense, net (2,153 ) (4,049 )
Other income (loss), net  

5,488

  (406 )
Total other income (expenses)   3,679     (4,009 )
Loss before income tax (14,600 ) (16,295 )
Income tax expense        
Net Loss (14,600 ) (16,295 )
Preferred dividends   (1,395 )   (1,395 )
Loss Applicable to Common Stockholders $ (15,995 ) $ (17,690 )
 
Loss Applicable to Common Stock, per share
Basic $ (0.24 ) $ (0.26 )
Diluted $ (0.24 ) $ (0.26 )
Weighted Average Number of Shares of Common Stock Outstanding
Basic   67,027,104     66,977,104  
Diluted   67,027,104     66,977,104  
 

Contacts

For Investor Relations Inquiries:
Austin Pruitt
Drive
Shack Inc.
646-585-5591
[email protected]

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