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RED DEER, AB, Dec. 18 /CNW/ - Gamehost Income Fund has declared a regular cash distribution for the month of December 2008 of $0.0733 per unit. In addition, the Fund's trustees have approved a special year end distribution of $0.1674 per unit. The combined distribution of $0.2407 per unit will be paid on January 15, 2009 to unit holders of record on December 31, 2008. The ex-distribution date is December 29, 2008.
With this announcement, distributions declared for 2008 total $1.0271 per unit compared to $1.1567 per unit distributed in 2007.
It is the intention of the Fund to distribute sufficient income so that the Fund will not have any liability for tax under Part I of the Income Tax Act. The Fund's mandate is to make consistent monthly cash payments to unit holders based on management's projections of the year's distributable cash.
Looking forward to 2009, management is keenly aware of the general economic conditions. Accordingly, management has been highly responsive to changing conditions. Management will continue to be intensely focused on aggressive cost management and revenue maximization to ensure the preservation of unit holder value.
The Fund currently enjoys an exceptionally low debt/EBITDA ratio of 0.6/1.0 and certainly one of the lowest in the North American gaming sector. 2008 will see the reduction of principal debt of approximately $1.6 million. This exceeds the 2007 debt reduction of $0.7 million by approx 130%. Moving into 2009 management intends to continue an aggressive principal debt repayment program to increase the reduction of debt over that achieved in 2008.
CFO Craig Thomas adds "By accelerating our debt reduction we not only reduce our interest costs but continue to improve our balance sheet. Should acquisition opportunities arise we will be in a very strong position."
VP Darcy Will offered "Management of the Fund extend warm wishes for the holiday season to all unit holders, we appreciate your continued support. I and other members of senior management continue to own in excess of 45% of the Fund. Rest assured our interests are very well aligned with yours."
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may contain words such as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "expects", "indicates", "plans" or other similar expressions that suggest future outcomes or events. Use of these statements reflect reasonable assumptions made on the basis of management's current beliefs with information known by management at the time of writing. Many factors could cause actual results to differ from the results discussed in forward-looking statements. Actual results may not be consistent with these forward-looking statements.
Gamehost Income Fund is an unincorporated open-ended limited purpose trust established under the laws of the Province of Alberta. The Fund's activities are currently confined to the Province of Alberta, Canada. Operations of the Fund include the Boomtown Casino in Ft. McMurray, the Great Northern Casino, Service Plus Inns & Suites and a strip mall all located in Grande Prairie. The Fund is also a 40% joint venture partner in Deerfoot Inn & Casino Inc. in Calgary and a 20% joint venture partner in the new Stampede Casino in Calgary.
The TSX does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Complete disclosure of the Fund can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Additional information on the Fund can be found on the Fund's website at www.gamehost.ca.
%SEDAR: 00019487E