Premier Exhibitions Reports Fiscal 2011 Second Quarter Results

ATLANTA, Oct. 7, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (Nasdaq:PRXI), a leading presenter of museum-quality touring exhibitions around the world, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended August 31, 2010.

Chris Davino, Premier Exhibition's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "During the second quarter, we made significant strategic progress despite near-term operational challenges. First, we received a favorable decision in the Titanic case. We also embarked on a historic return to the Titanic wreck site which should pave the way for new revenue opportunities, a more compelling exhibition experience, and a further diversification of our business model." Mr. Davino continued, "From an operating perspective, we did a great job putting our touring assets to work, and we did so in a heavily self-operated manner. While that positioned us for the opportunity for higher gross profit, soft attendance put pressure on our financial results. As we have stated over the past few quarters, we continue to work on various initiatives to not only improve the profitability of our existing properties, but also allow us to accelerate long-term growth with the introduction of new exhibitions and other content that compliments our core business."

Comparing the second fiscal quarter ended August 31, 2010 with the prior year second quarter:

• Revenue increased to $13.7 million compared to $13.4 million.
• Total exhibition days increased 7% to 1,757, as a result of better deployment of our entire capacity of touring exhibitions.
• Average attendance per exhibition day decreased 17% to 669, as total attendance decreased 11% to 1,176,184. 
• Average ticket prices increased 3% to $16.52 as compared with $16.04 in the prior year second quarter. 
• Gross Profit decreased $3.2 million to $4.9 million, reflecting lower revenue per exhibition day, a decline in average daily attendance, as well as increased venue operating costs associated with more self operated exhibitions year over year. 
• General and Administrative expenses decreased 47% to $3.9 million and was driven by lower consulting and legal fees, lower compensation expense, and reduced bad debt.
• GAAP Net loss narrowed to ($0.2) million, or ($0.00) per diluted share from ($0.5) million, or ($0.20) per diluted share in the prior year period.
• Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure ⁽¹⁾, improved by $0.3 million to $1.1 million, despite expensing strategic investments totaling approximately $0.4 million. 
• On August 31, 2010, the Company had total cash and marketable securities of $8.1 million and no debt.

2Q11 Conference Call Information

Company management will host its second quarter fiscal 2011 conference call on October 7, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. (EDT). Interested parties can access the call by dialing 1 [phone] in the U.S. and 1 [phone] internationally.  Callers should reference confirmation code 7792480. A transcript of the conference call will be made available on the Company's website: www.prxi.com .

⁽¹⁾ Adjusted EBITDA

See Table 4 below for reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA to GAAP Net income (loss).