Accel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: ACEL) today announced certain financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022.

Highlights:

• Revenue of $267.0 million for Q3 2022, an increase of 38% compared to Q3 2021
• Q3 2022 Illinois revenue per location per day increased 3% when compared to Q3 2021
• Net income of $22.4 million for Q3 2022; an increase of 108% compared to Q3 2021
• Adjusted EBITDA of $41.1 million for Q3 2022, an increase of 9% when compared to Q3 2021
• Q3 2022 ended with 3,517 locations; an increase of 38% compared to Q3 2021 due primarily to the acquisition of Century Gaming, Inc. ("Century")
• Q3 2022 ended with 22,429 gaming terminals; an increase of 68% compared to Q3 2021 due primarily to the acquisition of Century
• Q3 2022 ended with $309 million of net debt; an increase of 109% compared to Q3 2021 due primarily to borrowings of $160 million on our credit facility in Q2 2022 to finance the Century acquisition
• Repurchased $22.5 million of Accel Class A-1 common stock in Q3 2022
• On August 1, 2022, Accel acquired the amusement assets of VVS, Inc., an operator in Nebraska, for $9.5 million
• On September 9, 2022, Accel acquired River City Amusement Company, an amusement operator in Nebraska and Iowa, for $2.8 million

Guidance:

Accel is reaffirming 2022 location, gaming terminals, revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA guidance. Capital expenditures guidance increased due to Accel's investment in the Nebraska market and the acceleration of planned 2023 capital expenditures to 2022.

2022 guidance ^[1]:

• End 2022 with an estimated 3,550 - 3,600 locations
• End 2022 with an estimated 22,700 - 23,200 gaming terminals
• 2022 Revenue estimated to be $960 - $990 million
• 2022 Adjusted EBITDA^[*] estimated to be $160 - $165 million
• 2022 capital expenditures estimated to be $38 - $43 million of cash

Accel CEO Andy Rubenstein commented, “We're pleased with another strong quarter and remain focused on executing our growth strategy. Our solid performance despite the current inflationary pressures further demonstrates the strength and resilience of our locally-focused business model. We expanded our footprint in Nebraska and continue to evaluate multiple opportunities across the country while returning capital to our shareholders."

Conference Call

Accel will host an investor conference call on November 8, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. Central Time (5:30 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss these operating and financial results. Interested parties may join the live webcast by registering at https://www.netroadshow.com/events/login?show=64a275d4&confId=43706. Registering in advance of the call will provide listeners with a personalized link to view the webcast and an individual dial-in for the call. This registration link to the live webcast will also be available on Accel’s investor relations website, as well as a replay of the webcast following completion of the call: ir.accelentertainment.com.

About Accel

Accel believes it is the leading distributed gaming operator in the United States on an Adjusted EBITDA basis, and a preferred partner for local business owners in the Illinois, Montana, and Nevada markets. Accel’s business consists of the installation, maintenance and operation of gaming terminals, redemption devices that disburse winnings and contain ATM functionality, and other amusement devices in authorized non-casino locations such as restaurants, bars, taverns, convenience stores, liquor stores, truck stops, and grocery stores.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, any statements regarding our 2022 guidance, potential acquisitions or strategic alliances, and our estimates of number of gaming terminals, locations, revenues, Adjusted EBITDA and capital expenditures. The words “predict,” “estimated,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “will,” “would,” “continue,” and similar expressions or the negatives thereof are intended to identify forward looking statements. These forward looking statements represent our current reasonable expectations and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance and achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the forward-looking statements, and you should be aware that results and events could differ materially and adversely from those contained in the forward looking statements due to a number of factors including, but not limited to: the existing and potential future adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Accel’s business, operations and financial condition, including as a result the suspensions of all video gaming terminal operations by the Illinois Gaming Board between November 19, 2020 and January 23, 2021, which suspensions could be reinstated; Accel's ability to successfully integrate its business with the business of Century and realize the full benefits of the Century acquisition; Accel’s ability to operate in existing markets or expand into new jurisdictions; Accel’s ability to manage its growth effectively; Accel’s ability to offer new and innovative products and services that fulfill the needs of location partners and create strong and sustained player appeal; Accel’s dependence on relationships with key manufacturers, developers and third parties to obtain gaming terminals, amusement machines, and related supplies, programs, and technologies for its business on acceptable terms; the negative impact on Accel’s future results of operations by the slow growth in demand for gaming terminals and by the slow growth of new gaming jurisdictions; Accel’s heavy dependency on its ability to win, maintain and renew contracts with location partners; unfavorable economic conditions or decreased discretionary spending due to other factors such as increased interest rates, increased inflation, high fuel rates, recessions, epidemics or other public health issues (including COVID-19 and its variant strains), terrorist activity or threat thereof, civil unrest or other macroeconomic or political uncertainties, that could adversely affect Accel’s business, results of operations, cash flows and financial conditions and other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in documents filed or to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Accordingly, forward-looking statements, including any projections or analysis, should not be viewed as factual and should not be relied upon as an accurate prediction of future results. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Accel. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control), or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by Accel with the SEC, as well as Accel’s other filings with the SEC. Except as required by law, we do not undertake publicly to update or revise these statements, even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed in this or other press releases or future quarterly reports, or company statements will not be realized. In addition, the inclusion of any statement in this press release does not constitute an admission by us that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. In addition, the industry in which we operate is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors including those described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by Accel with the SEC, as well as Accel’s other filings with the SEC. These and other factors could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed in this press release.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

This press release includes certain financial information not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (“GAAP”), including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income, and Net Debt. Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income, and Net Debt are non-GAAP financial measures and are key metrics used to monitor ongoing core operations. Management of Accel believes Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income, and Net Debt enhance the understanding of Accel’s underlying drivers of profitability and trends in Accel’s business and facilitates company-to-company and period-to-period comparisons, because these non-GAAP financial measures exclude the effects of certain non-cash items, represents certain nonrecurring items that are unrelated to core performance, or excludes non-core operations. Management of Accel also believes that these non-GAAP financial measures are used by investors, analysts and other interested parties as measures of financial performance.

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income, and Net Debt

Although Accel excludes amortization of intangible assets and route and customer acquisition costs from Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted net income, Accel believes that it is important for investors to understand that these route, customer and other intangible assets contribute to revenue generation. Any future acquisitions may result in amortization of intangible assets and route and customer acquisition costs.

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income, and Net Debt are not recognized terms under GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures exclude some, but not all, items that affect net income, and these measures may vary among companies. These non-GAAP financial measures are unaudited and have important limitations as an analytical tool, should not be viewed in isolation and do not purport to be alternatives to net income as indicators of operating performance.

[1] 2022 guidance includes Century’s results as of the acquisition date and assumes the results from Georgia will not be added back to our Adjusted EBITDA during the second half of 2022 because Georgia has operated for more than 24 months and would no longer be an "Emerging Market.”

[*] Although we provide guidance for Adjusted EBITDA, we are not able to provide guidance for net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Certain elements of the composition of GAAP net income, including stock-based compensation expenses, are difficult to predict and estimate, and are often dependent on future events which may be uncertain or outside of our control. These elements make it impractical for us to provide guidance on net income or to reconcile our Adjusted EBITDA guidance to net income without unreasonable efforts. For the same reason, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.

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