BALTIMORE, March 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- - Slinger (OTCQB:SLBG), a leading connected sports technology company, today announced financial results for its third-quarter fiscal 2021, ended January 31, 2022.

"We delivered a solid quarter, selling over 7,200 Slinger Bag launchers despite macro headwinds," said Mike Ballardie, Slinger CEO. "Revenue comparisons to the third quarter of 2020 were skewed due to a backlog buildup of $700,000 in orders last year related to demand outstripping supply in the first and second quarters of 2020. Excluding this, quarterly revenue would have been up approximately 23% from last year. Margins were also restrained this quarter due to increased global logistics costs related to inbound freight from China as we built up inventory ahead of the Chinese New Year and the impact of our increased promotions around the holidays.

"Year-to-date revenue growth has been strong at over 66%, demonstrating continued global demand for the Slinger Bag launcher which has sold 20,000 units through the end of the third quarter versus approximately 19,000 for all of fiscal 2020."

Fiscal 2021 Commentary

Ballardie continued, "We closed the transformational PlaySight and GAMEFACE.AI acquisitions at the beginning of the fourth quarter that will now enable our 'Watch, Play, Learn' strategy and transform Slinger into a truly connected sports technology company. We are working to quickly integrate the technologies and launch this connected platform, starting with our new app in the coming few months. In addition, we have been working to identify financial synergies across the new group, and we expect to see the early signs of these during the fourth quarter. Still, the majority of the benefit will be in fiscal 2022. For the fourth quarter, given the uncertainty around global macro events, including the ongoing impact of COVID on core distribution markets such as South Africa, India and China, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and inflation, we are taking a more cautious view on our sales forecasts for the Slinger Bag launcher over the near-term. As such, we are looking to total revenue for fiscal 2021 to be in the $16 - 17 million range, representing 48 - 57% growth year-on-year."

Fiscal 2022 Commentary and Strategic Update

"Looking forward to fiscal 2022, we have several products and initiatives that we expect to impact the business positively. Over the next few weeks, we are targeting the next phase of our 'Watch, Play, Learn' strategy with the beta release of the Slinger App powered by the GAMEFACE.AI artificial intelligence engine. The Slinger App will provide unique artificial intelligence-driven player analysis coupled with professional-level insights and drills to improve the performance of tennis players of all abilities. When this product is released commercially, it will be available for both iOS and Android in both a free version and a multi-tiered subscription offering.

"Around this fall, we are targeting the introduction of the Slinger Bag launcher for both the Pickleball and Padel markets. These products are already in global markets for final consumer testing, and the feedback to date is incredibly positive for both sports. Additionally, while the consolidated company works towards developing our connected platform, each entity will continue to build its existing business around recurring SaaS, services and device revenue. Early indications are that we will continue our aggressive revenue growth trajectory for fiscal 2022, of which around one-third should be recurring SaaS and Services revenue. Our objective as a business will be to end fiscal 2022, at a break-even adjusted EBITDA run rate," concluded Ballardie.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2021 Financial Highlights (versus Fiscal 2020):

• Revenue of $4.2 million versus $4.1 million;
• Gross profit of $1.0 million versus $0.9 million;
• GAAP net loss and loss per share of ($2.4) million and ($0.06) versus ($1.3) million and ($0.05), respectively;
• Non-GAAP net loss and loss per share of ($2.3) million and ($0.05) versus ($0.7) million and ($0.02), respectively.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2021 Business Highlights:

• Signed Exclusive 4-Year Global Tennis Ball Partnership Agreement with Dunlop;
• Racquet Sports Industry Magazine Recognized Slinger CEO Mike Ballardie as Business Executive of the Year;
• Extended Asia Distribution Agreement with Tennis Bot in the Philippines and Indonesia;
• Framework Sports, Slinger's UK distributor, expanded its distribution into Poland;
• Expanded distribution into Ecuador;
• Expanded distribution to Puerto Rico;
• Expanded distribution to Romania.
  

Year-to-date Fiscal 2021 Financial Highlights (versus Fiscal 2020):

• Revenue of $12.1 million versus $7.3 million;
• Gross profit of $3.8 million versus $1.5 million;
• GAAP net loss and loss per share of ($44.6) million and ($1.19) versus ($5.2) million and ($0.20), respectively;
• Non-GAAP net loss and loss per share of ($4.8) million and ($0.13) versus ($2.1) million and ($0.08), respectively.

We define non-GAAP net loss as GAAP net loss, excluding items used to calculate non-GAAP operating loss, which include share-based compensation, shares and warrants issued in connection with services, amortization of acquired intangible assets, and acquisition-related expenses as well as other non-cash items, including gains/losses related to:

The extinguishment of debt; the amortization of debt discounts; inducement of conversions of equity; the change in the value of derivatives that are marked-to-market quarterly; the issuance of convertible notes; and interest expense. Please see reconciliations of all non-GAAP financial measures after the financial statements.

The Slinger Bag is available to order through or to find out more about Slinger Bag, visit

Webcast Information

The Company will be hosting a webcast to review its 3^rd Fiscal Quarter Results. It is recommended to submit questions ahead of time to investors@slingerbag.com, but investors will also be able to submit questions through the live webcast.

Slinger 3^rdQuarter Fiscal 2021 Earnings Results Webcast
Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM EDT
Participant Link:

About Slinger:

Slinger is a connected sports company delivering products and technologies across the 'Watch, Play, Learn' commercial activities of sport. Slinger makes sports more fun, accessible and connected through its ball launchers, AI technology, performance video, live streaming and club management software capabilities.

Slinger initially built its brand in the global tennis market, through its revolutionary Slinger Tennis Ball Launcher and accessories, with over $250 million of retail value in global distribution agreements and has grown to become one of the world's largest connected sports companies with its acquisitions of PlaySight Interactive, GAMEFACE.AI and Foundation Tennis. With its enhanced product, performance video and live streaming media capabilities, Slinger has positioned itself as an industry-leading, disruptive company in the global sports market.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended, including those relating to the Company's product development, clinical and regulatory timelines, market opportunity, competitive position, possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, potential growth opportunities and other statements that are predictive in nature. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which we operate and management's current beliefs and assumptions.

These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking expressions, including, but not limited to, "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential, "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These statements relate to future events or our financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts:

For Slinger Investor Relations inquiries, please visit , or contact investors@slingerbag.com or 443-407-7564

For Slinger media inquiries, please contact the press office at press@slingerbag.com or 443-407-7564

SLINGER BAG INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

SLINGER BAG INC.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND
COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

SLINGER BAG INC.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to our financial information presented in accordance with GAAP, we believe the following non-GAAP financial measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance. We use the following non-GAAP financial measures, collectively, to evaluate our ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes, including the preparation of our annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies, and to communicate with our board of directors concerning our financial performance. We believe that non-GAAP financial measures, when taken together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, may be helpful to investors because they provide consistency and comparability with past financial performance and meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our business, results of operations, or outlook. The non-GAAP financial measures are presented for supplemental informational purposes only, have limitations as analytical tools, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP and may be different from similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison. Investors are encouraged to review the related GAAP financial measures and the reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business, which it includes in press releases announcing quarterly financial results, including this press release.

We define non-GAAP operating income (loss) as the respective GAAP measure, excluding expenses related to share-based compensation, shares and warrants issued in connection of services, amortization of acquired intangible assets, and acquisition-related expenses.

We define non-GAAP net income (loss) as GAAP net income (loss), excluding items used to calculate non-GAAP operating income (loss), as well as other non-cash items, including gains/losses related to:

*numbers may not add due to rounding