BENGALURU: DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (DWA) reported 14.7 per cent higher revenues for the quarter ended 31 December, 2014 (Q4-2013, current quarter) of US$ 234.2 million, as compared to the US$ 204.3 same period in 2013. DWA reported an adjusted operating loss of US$ 37.6 million and adjusted net loss attributable to DWA of US$ 64.1 million or an adjusted loss of US$ 0.75 per share.
The company’s results for the quarter ended 31 December, 2014 include impairment charges of US$ 57.1 million, or a loss of approximately US$ 0.63 per share, primarily related to the performance of ‘The Penguins of Madagascar’ and ‘Mr. Peabody and Sherman’ , as well as certain other titles and investments says DWA.
Including the impact of the restructuring plan, DWA reported an operating loss of US$ 247.7 million and reported net loss attributable to DWA of US$ 263.2 million, or US$ 3.08 per share for Q4-2014. Of the restructuring-related charges totalling US$ 210.1 million or a loss of US$ 2.33 per share, US$ 54.6 million was related to employee termination costs and other contractual obligations and US$ 155.5 million was primarily related to write-offs of capitalised production costs of unreleased projects, including ‘B.O.O.’ and ‘Monkeys of Mumbai’, as well as other charges associated with changes in the film slate, informs DWA.
Feature Film segment
Revenues for Q4- 2014 from the Feature Film Segment increased to US$ 131.3 million, while segment gross profit declined to a loss of US$ 152.2 million, which DWA says is primarily due to the impact of film and other inventory write-offs of US$ 153.8 million stemming from the Company’s restructuring initiatives, as well as impairment charges of US$ 39.7 million related to The Penguins of Madagascar and Mr. Peabody and Sherman.
Television Series and Specials segment
Q4-2014 revenues from the Television Series and Specials Segment increased 7.7 per cent to US$ 50.7 million. The segment’s gross profit declined from US$ 7.3 million to a loss of US$ 2.6 million, as the higher revenues were more than offset by write-downs of capitalised film costs totalling US$ 13.3 million in the quarter, primarily due to revisions in estimated future revenues for certain television specials, as well as up front marketing costs related to the various television series that were delivered in the quarter.
Consumer Products
Revenues from the Consumer Products Segment increased 77.5 per cent to US$ 22.1 million, while segment gross profit increased to US$ 6.1 million mostly due to increased sales in the company’s merchandise, location-based entertainment and retail development businesses says DWA.
New Media segment
DWA’s New Media segment consists of revenues and expenses attributable to Awesomeness TV (ATV) and related businesses. Revenues and segment gross profit for Q4-2014 from this segment increased to US$ 24.9 million and US$ 13.2 million, respectively. The New Media Segment benefitted from the production and delivery of original programming, sponsorships arrangements and content licensing fees.
Also during the quarter, DWA entered into a joint venture agreement with Hearst Corporation (Hearst) under which Hearst purchased a 25 per cent ownership interest in ATV for US$ 81.25 million. DWA also entered into an agreement with the former stockholders of ATV under which the Company paid US$ 80.0 million in lieu of any amounts of earn-out consideration. As a result, DWA recorded a gain in the quarter of US$ 6.8 million to reflect the change in fair value of the contingent consideration liability.
All Other segment
Revenues for the quarter ended 31 December, 2014 from the All Other Segment declined to US$ 5.2 million, primarily because the Company is no longer self-producing any live performance productions. In the prior year period, the Company earned revenues of US$ 11.0 million attributable to the subscription video-on-demand (“SVOD”) release of the filmed version of Shrek the Musical. This segment reported loss of US$ 4.0 million, largely due to lower revenues and the write-off of capitalised costs in the amount of US$ 5.4 million.
The full year results to follow tomorrow… FY-2014 Results
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