Ballantyne Strong Announces Management Succession and Provides COVID-19 Business Update

Charlotte, NC, April 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ballantyne Strong, Inc. (NYSE American: BTN) (“Ballantyne Strong” or the “Company”) today announced that Mark Roberson has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer and that Todd Major has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer. Kyle Cerminara will continue to lead the Company’s Board of Directors in the role of Non-Executive Chairman.

“These well-deserved promotions are the result of the Board’s planning initiatives to strengthen the management team at Ballantyne Strong,” said Kyle Cerminara, Chairman of the Board. “Mark has led the turnaround in our financial and operational performance over the past 18 months. Todd has stepped in to lead our financial organization over the past year, bringing tremendous financial expertise and leadership to the Company. These changes reflect the Board's objective of thoughtfully executing a leadership succession plan, separating the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer roles, and my personal desire to begin transitioning my day to day duties to a new leader. I have the utmost confidence in our management team’s ability to navigate the current business cycle and to drive the Company’s strategy going forward. I will continue to be actively involved working with the management team and the Board on key strategic initiatives including mergers and acquisitions.”

In response to the rapid spread of the novel COVID-19 virus, the Company has temporarily curtailed its service and distribution activities in the United States and temporarily closed its screen manufacturing facility in Canada. Accordingly, the Company is taking a number of actions to preserve liquidity during this period and to remain in a strong competitive position when the current crisis subsides.

The Company has implemented targeted furloughs and other actions to significantly reduce operating expenses and manage working capital. The Company has received $3.2 million under the Payroll Protection Program, which is expected to be partially forgivable with any remaining balance after 6 months structured as an 18-month loan bearing an interest rate of 1.0%. To further strengthen liquidity, we have drawn $2.9 million CAD on our revolving line of credit in Canada, currently at a 2.45% variable interest rate. We expesct these financing activities, combined with aggressive expense reductions and working capital management, to increase Company’s current cash position to over $10 million.