Entertainment One LTD (LON:ETO), today announced half year results for the six months ended 30 September.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
·Group reported underlying EBITDA up 10% at £60 million (2017: £55 million), driven by revenue growth in Family & Brands partly offset by lower performance in Film & Television
·Group reported revenue broadly stable at £405 million (2017: £413 million), with strong growth in Family & Brands offset by lower Film & Television
·Group adjusted profit before tax up 7% at £42 million (2017: £39 million), Group reported loss before tax of £40 million (2017: £2 million profit)
·Adjusted diluted earnings per share up 20% at 6.1 pence per share (2017: 5.1 pence per share)
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
·Family & Brands continued to perform strongly driven by ongoing consumer product rollouts across a growing number of licensing contracts and the contribution from high margin subscription video on demand (SVOD) deals
·Film & Television delivered a number of new scripted and non-scripted television series in the first half and film continues to transition from distribution to production activities, reflecting ongoing industry changes
·Strong second half expected for Film & Television with film pipeline including Green Book, Vice, On the Basis of Sex, If Beale Street Could Talk and Stan & Ollie. Television scripted deliveries include Designated Survivor season 3 and the first season of The Rookie
·Acquisition of outstanding stake in film production and international sales company Sierra/Affinity, brings additional creative and talent relationships into the Group, with Sierra’s Nick Meyer and Marc Schaberg further strengthening the existing Film & Television management team
·Acquisition of a 70.1% stake in Whizz Kid Entertainment, a successful UK non-scripted production company and creator of Ex on the Beach, currently being produced by eOne for MTV in the US
·Integration of the Film and Television Divisions including Sierra/Affinity and The Mark Gordon Company is on track to generate £13-15 million of annualised costs savings by the end of FY20
·Independent library valuation, completed in September 2018, increased to US$2.0 billion as at 31 March 2018 (2017: US$1.7 billion), including the impact of the £57 million one-off charge (of which £53 million is non-cash) largely related to the impairment of certain assets in the film distribution business
·The Group anticipates full year financial performance to be in line with management expectations
ALLAN LEIGHTON, ENTERTAINMENT ONE CHAIRMAN, COMMENTED:
“Entertainment One continues to execute its strategy well, with the Group delivering solid financial results and successfully bringing additional high-profile creative and management talent into the business during the period. The content development pipeline is exciting across our businesses and we are poised to launch Ricky Zoom to the world in the spring/summer 2019. The Group continues to be optimistic amidst ongoing evolution in the industry and we look forward to the rest of the year with confidence.”
DARREN THROOP, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, COMMENTED:
“The first half performance saw strong growth in Family & Brands, scripted drama, non-scripted and SVOD revenues in Film & Television. This was achieved as we continued to transition our film distribution activities towards production, EBITDA increased as the margin mix improved.
Once again our library has increased in value, underlining our commitment to invest in the best quality content and unlock the value and power of creativity across our businesses. In an industry where content is increasingly valuable, this positions us well for the future.
Looking ahead, we anticipate further progress for the Family & Brands properties in China and around the globe, a number of initiatives for Peppa Pig will consolidate its position as one of the leading pre-school brands in the world, as well as the wider merchandising phase for PJ Masks in China. The Film & Television Division has 74% of the full year’s expected TV programming margin already greenlit or committed. There is also a full pipeline of development projects across Film & Television which will help drive future growth. Prospects remain bright and eOne is on track to deliver FY19 financial performance in line with management expectations.”
