Life Time Fitness Announces Second Quarter 2014 Financial Results and New Share Repurchase Program

Revenue Grew 6.0%, Net Income was $29.8 million and Diluted EPS was $0.76;

Board Authorizes Company to Repurchase up to $200.0 million of Common Stock

CHANHASSEN, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Life Time Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:LTM), The Healthy Way of Life Company, today reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Second quarter 2014 revenue grew 6.0% to $326.6 million from $308.1 million during the same period last year. Revenue for the first six months of 2014 grew 6.6% to $638.5 million from $598.9 million during the same period last year.

Net income for the quarter was $29.8 million, or $0.76 per diluted share, compared to net income of $33.2 million, or $0.80 per diluted share, for 2Q 2013. Net income for the first six months of 2014 was $58.1 million, or $1.45 per diluted share, compared to net income of $61.3 million, or $1.47 per diluted share for the prior-year period.

The Company also announced that its board of directors has authorized a share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to $200.0 million of its outstanding common stock.

“The second quarter was a challenging one for our company as we faced unexpected erosion of membership levels at some centers,” said Bahram Akradi, Life Time chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We believe the retention-focused initiatives we have previously introduced will positively affect membership levels over time. At the same time, I am pleased to report that, as a group, the five Life Time Athletic centers we have opened in 2014 have outperformed our financial expectations. Our current plans call for one additional Life Time Athletic center opening this year, and six new Life Time Athletic center openings in 2015. These openings, along with the expansion and improvement of our member-focused health, fitness, family recreation and sports programs, serve as the foundation of long-term growth for our Healthy Way of Life Company.”

During the quarter, the Company opened its first center in Des Moines, Iowa, and the sixth center in the Detroit market, located in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Since the beginning of the year, the Company has opened five of the six planned new centers for 2014, the last of which will be in the Las Vegas market during the fourth quarter.

Share Repurchase Program:

The new program replaces a $200.0 million share repurchase program that was introduced in August 2013. Under the former program, from its inception through June 30, 2014, the Company repurchased approximately 3.6 million shares at a total cost of approximately $171.0 million. Under the new program, share repurchases may be made from time to time through open market or privately negotiated transactions. The timing of such transactions depends on a variety of factors, including market conditions, blackout periods, and the terms of trading plans, if any, established in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission rules.

The authorization to repurchase shares terminates when the aggregate repurchase amount totals $200.0 million or at the close of business on June 30, 2016, whichever comes earlier. The share repurchase program does not obligate the company to repurchase any dollar amount or number of shares of its common stock and the program may be extended, modified, suspended or discontinued at any time.

Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2014, Financial Highlights:

Total revenue for the second quarter grew 6.0% to $326.6 million from $308.1 million in 2Q 2013. Total revenue for the first six months of 2014 grew 6.6% to $638.5 million from $598.9 million during the prior-year period.

Total memberships grew 1.2% to 823,021 at June 30, 2014, from 812,866 at June 30, 2013.

• Access memberships were 712,296 at June 30, 2014 compared to 713,138 at June 30, 2013.
• Non-Access memberships were 110,725 at June 30, 2014 compared to 99,728 at June 30, 2013.
• Attrition in 2Q 2014 was 8.3% compared to 8.2% in the prior-year period. Attrition for the 12-month period ended June 30, 2014, was 35.8% compared to attrition of 34.5% during the 12-month period ended June 30, 2013.

Total operating expenses during 2Q 2014 were $269.1 million compared to $247.4 million for 2Q 2013. Total operating expenses for the first six months of 2014 were $527.0 million compared to $485.8 million for the first six months of 2013.

• Income from operations margin was 17.6% for 2Q 2014 compared to 19.8% in the prior-year period.
• Income from operations margin was 17.5% for the first six months of 2014 compared to 18.9% for the first six months of 2013.

Net income for 2Q 2014 was $29.8 million, or $0.76 per diluted share, compared to net income of $33.2 million, or $0.80 per diluted share, for 2Q 2013. Net income for the first six months of 2014 was $58.1 million, or $1.45 per diluted share, compared to net income of $61.3 million, or $1.47 per diluted share, for the prior-year period.

EBITDA for 2Q 2014 was $92.2 million compared to $91.1 million in 2Q 2013. For the first six months of 2014, EBITDA was $178.7 million compared with $173.1 million in the prior-year period.

• As a percentage of total revenue, EBITDA in 2Q 2014 was 28.3% and 29.6% in 2Q 2013.
• For the first six months of 2014, EBITDA, as a percentage of total revenue, was 28.0% compared to 28.9% in the prior-year period.

Cash flows from operating activities for the first six months of 2014 totaled $133.7 million compared to $124.5 million in the prior-year period.

Weighted average fully diluted shares for 2Q 2014 totaled 39.3 million compared to 41.7 million in 2Q 2013. For the first six months of 2014, weighted average fully diluted shares totaled 40.1 million compared to 41.6 million for the prior-year period.

Updated 2014 Business Outlook:

The following statements are based on the Company’s current expectations for fiscal year 2014. These 2014 expectations are subject to the risks and uncertainties further described in the Company’s forward-looking statements:

• Revenue is expected to be $1.290-1.310 billion (revised from $1.300-1.320 billion).
• Net income is expected to be $120.0-125.0 million (revised from $125.0-130.0 million).
• Diluted earnings per common share is expected to be $3.00-3.10 (revised from $3.05-3.15).

As announced on July 17, 2014, the Company will hold a conference call today at 10:00 a.m. ET to discuss its second quarter 2014 results. Akradi, Eric Buss, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and John Heller, vice president, Finance and Investor Relations, will host the conference call. The conference call will be webcast and may be accessed via the Company’s Investor Relations section of its website at lifetimefitness.com. A replay of the call will be available the same day via the Company’s website beginning at approximately 2:00 p.m. ET.

As announced on February 20, 2014, Buss assumed the additional role of interim chief financial officer, effective March 2, 2014. The Company’s board of directors has confirmed Buss’ appointment as chief financial officer, effective July 21, 2014. Buss joined Life Time in September 1999 as vice president of Finance and general counsel. Prior to joining the Company, Buss was an associate with the law firm of Faegre & Benson LLP (now Faegre Baker Daniels LLP) and, before that, he served as an auditor with Arthur Andersen LLP.

About Life Time Fitness, Inc.:

As The Healthy Way of Life Company, Life Time Fitness (NYSE:LTM) helps organizations, communities and individuals achieve their total health objectives, athletic aspirations and fitness goals by engaging in their areas of interest — or discovering new passions — both inside and outside of Life Time’s distinctive and large sports, professional fitness, family recreation and spa destinations, most of which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Company’s Healthy Way of Life approach enables customers to achieve this by providing the best programs, people and places of uncompromising quality and value. As of July 24, 2014, the Company operated 112 centers under the LIFE TIME FITNESS^® and LIFE TIME ATHLETIC^® brands in the United States and Canada. Additional information about Life Time centers, programs and services is available at lifetimefitness.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can usually be identified by the use of terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “evolve,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “looking ahead,” “may,” “opinion,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “project,” “should,” “will” and similar words or expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual results in the future to differ materially from its historical results and those presently anticipated or projected. Among these factors are attracting and retaining members, risks related to our debt levels and debt covenants, the ability to access our existing credit facility and obtain additional financing, strains on our business from continued and future growth, including potential acquisitions and other strategic initiatives, risks related to maintenance and security of our data, potential recognition of compensation expense related to performance-based stock grants, competition from other health and fitness centers, identifying and acquiring suitable sites for new centers, delays in opening new centers, unanticipated expenses relating to regulatory matters or litigation, and other factors set forth in the risk factor section of the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which such statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after such date. All remarks made during the Company’s preliminary financial results webcast will be current at the time of the webcast and the Company is under no obligation to update the recording.

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

This release and the related conference call disclose EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure.

EBITDA. Earnings Before Interest, Income Taxes and Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP measure consisting of net income plus interest expense, net, provision for income taxes and depreciation and amortization. This term, as the Company defines it, may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure used by other companies and is not a measure of performance presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company uses EBITDA as a measure of operating performance. The funds depicted by EBITDA are not necessarily available for discretionary use if they are reserved for particular capital purposes, to maintain compliance with debt covenants, to service debt or to pay taxes. EBITDA should not be considered as a substitute for net income, net cash provided by operating activities or other income or cash flow data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Additional details related to EBITDA are provided in the Form 8-K that the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date of this press release. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to EBITDA:

Life Time Fitness, Inc.
Investor Relations:
John Heller, 952-229-7427
ir@lifetimefitness.com
or
Media Relations:
Jason Thunstrom, 952-229-7435
pr@lifetimefitness.com

Source: Life Time Fitness, Inc.

Released July 24, 2014