1 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-Q [X] Quarterly Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2001 or [ ] Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For the transition period from ___________ to ___________ Commission File Number: 0-16718 NORTHLAND CABLE PROPERTIES SEVEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP ---------------------------------------------------- (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter) Washington 91-1366564 - ----------------------- ------------------------------------ (State of Organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3600, Seattle, Washington 98101 - -------------------------------------------------- ------- (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) (206) 621-1351 - ---------------------------------------------------- (Registrant's telephone number, including area code) N/A - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes [X] No [ ] - ------------------------------ This filing contains __ pages. Exhibits index appears on page __. 2 PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION ITEM 1. Financial Statements NORTHLAND CABLE PROPERTIES SEVEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP BALANCE SHEETS (Prepared by the Managing General Partner) March 31 December 31, 2001 2000 ----------- ----------- (unaudited) ASSETS Cash $ 1,182,580 $ 492,858 Accounts receivable 528,564 597,585 Prepaid expenses 175,373 124,286 Due from affiliates 66,038 41,170 Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $19,713,833 and $19,025,522, respectively 17,779,628 17,158,968 Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $11,498,686 and $10,921,274, respectively 12,899,583 13,371,825 ------------ ------------ Total assets $ 32,631,766 $ 31,786,692 ============ ============ LIABILITIES AND PARTNERS' DEFICIT Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 1,192,471 $ 2,248,109 Due to managing general partner and affiliates 88,072 157,340 Converter deposits 48,495 43,580 Subscriber prepayments 769,914 633,154 Notes payable 42,196,609 40,016,323 Interest rate derivative 131,577 -- ------------ ------------ Total liabilities 44,427,138 43,098,506 ------------ ------------ Partners' deficit: General Partners: Contributed capital, net (25,367) (25,367) Accumulated deficit (305,055) (300,219) ------------ ------------ (330,422) (325,586) ------------ ------------ Limited Partners: Contributed capital, net 18,735,576 18,735,576 Accumulated deficit (30,200,526) (29,721,804) ------------ ------------ (11,464,950) (10,986,228) ------------ ------------ Total partners' deficit (11,795,372) (11,311,814) ------------ ------------ Total liabilities and partners' deficit $ 32,631,766 $ 31,786,692 ============ ============ The accompanying notes are an integral part of these balance sheets. 3 NORTHLAND CABLE PROPERTIES SEVEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Prepared by the Managing General Partner) For the three months ended March 31, ------------------------------------ 2001 2000 ----------- ----------- (unaudited) Service revenues $ 4,554,058 $ 4,471,434 Expenses: Cable system operations (including $60,372 and $53,223 to affiliates in 2001 and 2000, respectively) 379,846 397,620 General and administrative (including $448,079 and $419,137 to affiliates in 2001 and 2000, respectively) 1,084,404 1,024,118 Programming (including $30,771 and $60,775 to affiliates in 2001 and 2000, respectively) 1,309,508 1,239,560 Depreciation and amortization 1,234,666 1,140,285 ----------- ----------- 4,008,424 3,801,583 ----------- ----------- Income from operations 545,634 669,851 Other income (expense): Interest expense (903,216) (876,236) Interest income and other (110,211) 8,796 ----------- ----------- (1,029,192) (867,440) ----------- ----------- Net loss $ (483,558) $ (197,589) =========== =========== Allocation of net loss: General Partners $ (4,836) $ (1,976) =========== =========== Limited Partners $ (478,722) $ (195,613) =========== =========== Net loss per limited partnership unit: (49,656 units) $ (10) $ (4) =========== =========== Net loss per $1,000 investment $ (19) $ (8) =========== =========== The accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements. 4 NORTHLAND CABLE PROPERTIES SEVEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Prepared by the Managing General Partner) For the three months ended March 31, ----------------------------------- 2001 2000 ----------- ----------- (unaudited) CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES: Net loss $ (483,558) $ (197,589) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 1,234,666 1,140,285 Loan fee amortization 31,057 37,917 Mark-to-market on interest rate derivative 131,577 -- Gain on sale of assets -- (5,753) (Increase) decrease in operating assets: Accounts receivable 69,021 59,742 Due from managing general partner and affiliates (24,868) -- Prepaid expenses (51,087) 34,715 Increase (decrease) in operating liabilities Accounts payable and accrued expenses (1,055,638) (525,224) Due to managing general partner and affiliates (69,268) 94,497 Converter deposits 4,915 515 Subscriber prepayments 136,760 97,897 ----------- ----------- Net cash (used in) from operating activities (76,423) 737,002 ----------- ----------- CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Purchase of property and equipment, net (1,308,971) (358,825) Proceeds from sale of assets -- 5,753 Increase in intangibles (105,170) -- ----------- ----------- Net cash used in investing activities (1,414,141) (353,072) ----------- ----------- CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Principal payments on borrowings (819,714) (506,638) Proceeds from borrowings 3,000,000 -- ----------- ----------- Net cash from (used in) financing activities 2,180,286 (506,638) ----------- ----------- INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH 689,722 (122,708) CASH, beginning of period 492,858 534,003 ----------- ----------- CASH, end of period $ 1,182,580 $ 411,295 =========== =========== SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION: Cash paid during the period for interest $ 922,187 $ 842,782 =========== =========== The accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements. 5 NORTHLAND CABLE PROPERTIES SEVEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP NOTE TO UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (1) These unaudited financial statements are being filed in conformity with Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X regarding interim financial statement disclosure and do not contain all of the necessary footnote disclosures required for a fair presentation of the balance sheets, statements of operations and statements of cash flows in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. However, in the opinion of management, this data includes all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring accruals, necessary to present fairly the Partnership's financial position at March 31, 2001 and December 31, 2000, its statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2001 and 2000, and its statement of cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2001 and 2000. Results of operations for these periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year. These financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the Partnership's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000. (2) Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements In June 1998, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 133, "Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities" (SFAS 133) and in June 2000 issued SFAS No. 138, amendment of SFAS 133. These statements establish accounting and reporting standards requiring that every derivative instrument (including certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts) be recorded on the balance sheet as either an asset or liability measured at its fair value. These statements require that changes in the derivative's fair value be recognized currently in earnings unless specific hedge accounting criteria are met. Pursuant to SFAS No. 137, "Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities -- Deferral of the Effective Date of FASB No. 133 -- an Amendment to FASB Statement No. 133," the effective date of SFAS No. 133 has been deferred until fiscal years beginning after January 15, 2000. SFAS No. 133 cannot be applied retroactively. SFAS No. 133 must be applied to (a) derivative instruments and (b) certain derivative instruments embedded in hybrid contracts that were issued, acquired, or substantively modified after December 31, 1998 (and, at the company's election, before January 1, 1999). The Partnership has elected not to designate its derivatives as hedges under SFAS 133. Accordingly, the Partnership has recorded a liability equal to the fair value to settle the agreements and a corresponding debit in its statement of operations. Each quarter, the change in the market value of the Partnership's derivatives will be recorded as other income or expense. 6 6 PART I (continued) ITEM 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Three Months Ended March 31, 2001 and 2000 Revenues totaled $4,554,058 for the three months ended March 31, 2001 representing an increase of approximately 2% over the same period in 2000. Of these revenues, $3,160,215 (70%) was derived from basic services, $332,133 (7%) from premium services, $454,540 (10%) from expanded basic services, $100,540 (2%) from service maintenance contracts, $263,232 (6%) from advertising and $243,398 (5%) from other sources. The growth in revenue is attributable to rate increases implemented in the Partnership's systems during the first quarter of 2001 and an increase of approximately 11% in advertising revenues. As of March 31, 2001, the Partnership's systems served approximately 36,900 basic subscribers, 16,300 premium subscribers and 16,600 expanded basic subscribers. Operating expenses, which include costs related to technical personnel, repairs and maintenance, totaled $379,846 for the three months ended March 31, 2001, representing a decrease of approximately 4% over the same period in 2000. This is primarily due to decreased system maintenance expense and decreases in operating salaries and payroll benefits. General and administrative expenses totaled $1,084,404 for the three months ended March 31, 2001, representing an increase of approximately 6% over the same period in 2000. This increase is primarily attributable to: (i) increases in salary and benefit costs due to cost of living adjustments; and (ii) increases in revenue based expenses such as management, franchise and copyright fees. Programming expenses totaled $1,309,508 for the three months ended March 31, 2001, representing an increase of approximately 6% over the same period in 2000. This increase is primarily attributable to: (i) higher programming costs resulting from rate increases charged by various existing program suppliers and addition of new programming services in some of the Partnership's systems; and (ii) higher advertising sales commissions resulting from increases in advertising revenues. Depreciation and amortization expense for the three months ended March 31, 2001 increased approximately 8% over the same period in 2000. Such increase is attributable to depreciation of recent purchases related to upgrading plant and equipment offset by certain assets becoming fully depreciated. Interest expense for the three months ended March 31, 2001 increased approximately 3% over the same period in 2000. The Partnership's average bank debt outstanding increased from $39,690,402 during the first three months of 2000 to $41,106,466 during the same period in 2001. Additional borrowings were made to finance planned capital expenditures, including rebuilds of systems and new digital service launches. The Partnership's effective interest rate 7 7 decreased from 8.45% in the first quarter of 2000 to 8.29% in the first quarter of 2001. Liquidity and Capital Resources The Partnership's primary sources of liquidity are cash flow provided from operations and borrowing capacity under the Partnership's existing revolving credit facility. Based on management's analysis, the Partnership's cash flow from operations and borrowings from the Partnership's revolving credit facility will be sufficient to cover future operating costs, debt service and planned capital expenditures. Under the terms of the Partnership's loan agreement, the Partnership has agreed to restrictive covenants which require the maintenance of certain ratios including a maximum ratio of senior debt to annualized operating cash flow of 5.5 to 1.0 and a minimum ratio of annualized operating cash flow to pro forma debt service of 1.0 to 1.0. As of March 31, 2001 the Partnership was in compliance with its required financial covenants. As of the date of this filing, the balance under the credit facility is $41,887,500. Certain fixed rate agreements in place as of December 31, 2000 expired during the first quarter of 2001, and the Partnership entered into new fixed rate agreements. As of the date of this filing, interest rates on the credit facility were as follows: $20,350,000 fixed at 7.015% under the terms of an interest rate swap agreement with the Partnership's lender expiring March 12, 2002; $18,500,000 fixed at 7.015% under the terms of a self amortizing interest rate swap agreement with the Partnership's lender expiring March 12, 2002; $1,500,000 fixed at 7.015% under the terms of a self amortizing interest rate swap agreement with the Partnership's lender expiring March 29, 2002; $1,500,000 at a LIBOR based rate of 6.7675% expiring October 4, 2001; and the remaining $37,500 at prime (currently 8.5%). The above rates include a margin paid to the lender based on overall leverage, and may increase or decrease as the Partnership's leverage fluctuates. Capital Expenditures During the first quarter of 2001, the Partnership incurred approximately $1,309,000 in capital expenditures, including the continuation of an upgrade of the distribution plant to 550 MHz in the Brenham, Texas, Sequim, Washington, Sandersville, Georgia, and Toccoa, Georgia systems; as well as various line extensions and vehicle replacements in all of the systems. Planned expenditures for the balance of 2001 include continuation of distribution plant upgrades, new digital service launches, line extensions, analog channel additions, and vehicle replacements in various systems. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk The Partnership is subject to market risks arising from changes in interest rates. The Partnership's primary interest rate exposure results from changes in LIBOR or the prime rate which are used to determine the interest rate applicable to the Partnership's debt facilities. As of the date of this filing, the Partnership had entered into two interest rate swap agreements for $20,350,000 and $20,000,000 of these borrowings, to partially hedge interest rate exposure. Interest rate swaps have the effect of converting the applicable variable rate obligations to fixed or other variable rate obligations. Had the Partnership not entered into these fixed rate agreements, the potential loss over one year that would result from a hypothetical, instantaneous and unfavorable change of 100 basis points in the interest rate of all the Partnership's variable rate obligations would be approximately $403,000. The Partnership does not use financial instruments for trading or other speculative purposes. Cautionary statement for purposes of the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements contained or incorporated by reference in this document that are not based on historical fact are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe", "intends", "may", "will", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "continue", or similar terms, variations of those terms or the negative 8 8 of those terms. PART II - OTHER INFORMATION ITEM 1 Legal proceedings None ITEM 2 Changes in securities None ITEM 3 Defaults upon senior securities None ITEM 4 Submission of matters to a vote of security holders None ITEM 5 Other information None ITEM 6 Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K (a) No reports on Form 8-K have been filed during the quarter ended March 31, 2001. 9 9 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. NORTHLAND CABLE PROPERTIES SEVEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP BY: Northland Communications Corporation, Managing General Partner Dated: 5/15/01 BY: /s/ RICHARD I. CLARK ------- ------------------------------------ Richard I. Clark (Executive Vice President/Treasurer) Dated: 5/15/01 BY: /s/ GARY S. JONES ------- ------------------------------------ Gary S. Jones (President) 10