Centerplate Suffers Q1 Loss Of $11.2M, Will Eliminate Dividends

By Don Muret, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Centerplate CEO Janet Steinmayer faced some angry shareholders during yesterday's first-quarter earnings conference call after the concessionaire announced earlier in the day that starting in June it would eliminate monthly dividends from its income deposit securities. The company also disclosed that its board had elected to hire UBS Investment Bank to evaluate a range of capital structure alternatives and other options because the IDS format, which combines common stock and a bond, may limit its ability to invest to strengthen and grow its business. Centerplate reported a net loss of $11.2M in the first quarter of '08, compared with $8M for the same period in '07. The firm's stock has plummeted to about $5 a share largely because of its announcement in early April that it will not be the Yankees' food and retail provider at their new ballpark in '09, information many in the concessions industry have known to be true for the past 12-14 months. When asked by one investor on the call if UBS will look into the possible sale of the company, Steinmayer said, "What we are looking for here really is to explore all of the options which would make sense for us given the current economic and competitive environment. It would be premature for us to discuss anything in detail at this point." Centerplate's major league accounts include AT&T Park, the Palace of Auburn Hills, Prudential Center and Nationals Park.