Boat Rocker Media Inc
TSX:BRMI
Boat Rocker Media Inc
TSX:BRMI
Price:
0.85 CAD
Market Closed
Updated:
May 17, 2024
Section:
Earnings Call Analysis
Summary
Q3-2023
Q3-2023
Boat Rocker Q3 Revenue Soars, EBITDA Up 41%
In a significant Q3, Boat Rocker Media's adjusted EBITDA reached $21.3 million, a 41% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Revenue witnessed an even more impressive leap, soaring to $201.9 million—a whopping 150% growth from the last year's equivalent period. However, the company now projects a total adjusted EBITDA of approximately $30 million for 2023 due to industry strikes affecting its Television and Representation segments.
You don't have any saved screeners yet
Good morning. My name is Ross and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Boat Rocker Media Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Before turning the call over to management, I'd like to remind listeners that today's remarks include non-IFRS measures. Reconciliations between Boat Rocker's IFRS and non-IFRS results can be found in the company's MD&A. Additionally, management's outlook for 2023 and beyond, anticipated financial and operating results, plans and objectives and answers to your questions will contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current opinions, beliefs, estimates, expectations and assumptions and are based on information currently available to management, which includes assumptions about continued revenue based on historical past performance, perception of trends and current business conditions, expected future developments and other factors which management considers appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. This forward-looking information represents management's expectations as of today and accordingly is subject to change. Such information is based on current assumptions that may not materialize and are contained in Boat Rocker's annual MD&A dated March 30, 2023, and MD&A dated November 8, 2023, and is subject to a number of important risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially, and listeners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information. A description of the risks that may affect future results is contained in Boat Rocker's annual information form, as well as MD&A dated November 8, 2023, which are available on the corporate website and in its filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
With that, I will now turn the call over to Mr. John Young, Chief Executive Officer of Boat Rocker Media. Mr. Young, you may begin your remarks.
Thank you very much, Ross. Thank you, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for the Boat Rocker Media Third Quarter 2023 Results Conference Call. On the call with me today are Judy Adam, our CFO; David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg, our Co-Executive Chairman and Co-Chairman of Boat Rocker Studios.
As is the norm, I'm going to touch on our Q3 results and our outlook before turning it over to Judy for a financial review, then David will discuss our studio business before we open up the call to questions. Okay then, let's jump in.
This was a significant quarter for Boat Rocker and specifically for our owned IP shows. Continuing the trend we saw last quarter, our Television segment was the main driver of our Q3 performance. This was largely owing to the sale of our sci-fi drama, Beacon 23 to MGM+ and the beginning of episodic delivery of that title, as well as completing delivery of American Rust Season 2 to Amazon. Overall, Q3 adjusted EBITDA was $21.3 million, up 41% from Q3 2022. Revenue was also strong at $201.9 million, up 150% from the same period last year. We are especially pleased that we were able to generate these results against the backdrop of continuing industry uncertainty. As most on the call will be aware, the WGA strike which lasted 148 days considerably solved development, production and other activities that are at the core of our business.
While WGA members are working again which allows us to press forward with our projects in development, the SAG-AFTRA strike is ongoing and as such, projects up for consideration for renewal or greenlit can't move forward at this time. Our Representation segment has been significantly impacted by both strikes as work for our actor clients was impacted in May by the start of the WGA strike and then halted altogether when SAG-AFTRA members struck in July. As a result of the 2 strikes and their impact on our Television and Representation segments, we now expect 2023 adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $30 million. Despite changes in the industry at large, we remain bullish on the demand for high-quality IP over the long term and the tremendous opportunities that come with owning it. The downside to this model is that the cycle from sourcing IP to producing and monetizing it can be a 1:1. Any factors that elongated pose risks to our performance expectations.
The strikes are undeniably causing a lag in greenlits and other buyer decisions that impact the IP cycle and as a result, the strikes will have a knock-on effect and those will be negative factors in our 2024 results, particularly within our Representation and Television segments. That said, we believe the slowing effect to be temporary and that when the SAG strike is resolved, buyers will return to business in the normal course, though it may take some time for buyers to reignite many parts of their business that have largely laid dormant for the last number of months.
Sooner things are back on track, Boat Rocker will also return full steam to doing what we do best and what we have resoundingly demonstrated in our Q3 results, creating healthy margin, premium IP for audiences and buyers around the world. We have built Boat Rocker for the long term, and we'll continue to leverage our creative and operational capabilities and strong debt-free financial foundation in the years to come.
With that, I'm going to turn it over to Judy for a brief financial review. Judy?
Thank you, John, and good morning, everyone. We posted a solid Q3 across revenues, adjusted EBITDA and content delivery. Overall, Boat Rocker generated revenue of $201.9 million versus $80.7 million in Q3 2022. Year-to-date, revenue increased 113% from $193 million in 2022 to $410.4 million in 2023. The significant uplift in Q3 from any comparable period was driven by our Television segment, which saw revenue growth of 340% to $185.5 million versus $42.1 million in Q3 of 2022. For broader context of the trend over time, year-to-date, television revenue has increased 250% from $97.6 million in 2022 to $342 million in 2023.
Our strong Television performance came from the anticipated pickup in the delivery and sale of our larger budget owned IP, particularly the premium scripted sci-fi series, Beacon 23. The original licensees of the series released their rights while the show was in post-production due to changes in one of the parties internal operating environment and commissioning strategies. The release of rights allowed Boat Rocker to find a new partner for the show, resulting in a sale to MGM+ which facilitated the completion of the production.
The revenue associated with the release of the original rights was recognized as production revenue in Q3 as performance obligations with the original parties were satisfied. This revenue recognition occurred earlier than anticipated. Although episodic delivery is expected to continue through Q4, the associated revenue will be significantly lower than that recorded in Q3. Despite these timing shifts and the particularities of a dynamic assay [indiscernible] with Beacon 23, the show is a good indicator of the earnings power of premium owned IP.
Strong growth in production revenues was offset by decline in service revenues to $9.6 million compared to $30.3 million in the same period of 2022. The decline stemmed from reduced production volumes in our U.S. business in addition to EP and other fees in the prior period that didn't repeat in the current period. This was partially offset by a modest increase in Canadian service production. Kids & Family revenue was $10.8 million, was down from $28 million in Q3 last year due to fewer episodic deliveries and lower volume of service revenue in the period versus the prior year.
We also continued to experience softer royalties from consumer products, which affected segment performance this quarter. As John mentioned, the SAG-AFTRA strike continued to have a clear impact on our Representation segment, which generated $5.6 million of revenue this quarter versus $10.6 million in Q3 2022. This result was in line with management expectations based on our assumptions about the length of the SAG strike. Production, distribution and service costs for Q3 were $161.1 million compared to $46.5 million for the same period of 2022, an increase of $114.7 million. The increase was mostly attributable to the higher amortization of content, $127.5 million associated with the increase in production revenues driven by our premium scripted drama.
General and administrative costs were $20.8 million this quarter versus $22 million in the same period of 2022, a decline of $1.2 million from the prior year. Boat Rocker recorded a net loss of $8.5 million or loss per share of $0.17 per share in the quarter, which includes a noncash goodwill impairment charge of $15.2 million associated with our unscripted cash-generating units, which represented $0.20 loss per share. Adjusting for the impact of this, our net income would be positive $6.6 million or $0.10 income per share in the quarter. Q3 adjusted EBITDA was $21.3 million versus $15.1 million for the same period in 2022, an increase of $6.2 million or 41%.
Year-to-date adjusted EBITDA was $25 million compared to $17.3 million in 2022, an increase of $7.8 million or 45%. As Q3 clearly demonstrates Boat Rocker's fundamentals are strong, the company remains debt-free other than our normal course inter-production financing and has a secure cash position. As we discussed last quarter, we expected cash flows to be much stronger in the back half of fiscal '23 than in the front half of the year. Q3 cash was particularly strong with the company generating free cash flow of $29.7 million in the quarter and $4.7 million year-to-date. As a result, total cash on hand at the end of Q3 increased to $85.5 million.
Also, we mentioned last quarter that management considers cash available for use as its most reliable baseline measure of cash performance. It is a net cash earned from our business activities which is used for working capital requirements as well as ongoing development and growth efforts and does not swing as dramatically as free cash flow does in its media production business. Boat Rocker's total cash available for use in Q3 was $40.9 million, up significantly by $13.8 million from Q2 and up $9.4 million year-to-date. As anticipated, our cash available for use has grown largely because of Television segment performance as well as prudent cost management across the entire company. These cash reserves are key to our focus on an investment in owned IP, which will continue to be pillars of Boat Rocker's strategy moving forward.
I will now turn the call over to David to talk about our studio highlights and some factors at play in our industry.
Thanks, Judy, and good morning, everyone. It's very gratifying to see the hard work of our teams pay off with the delivery in the view of our owned IP shows, particularly the recent delivery of several of our scripted dramas. Beacon 23 starting Lena Headey from Game of Thrones and Stephan James from Homecoming is working its way through post-production and is beginning to deliver episodes now through the end of the year. We're thrilled that we'll soon be ready to find its audience on MGM+ to our recent sales of the global platform beginning with its premier in the U.S. on November 12. Orphan Black: Echoes, the spin-off from our original hit series, Orphan Black is gaining significant international sales momentum. So far, we've announced deals in major English-speaking territories, including ITV in the U.K., Stan Entertainment in Australia, and TV New Zealand in New Zealand with more to come from this piece of owned IP. Robyn Hood, from Director X and Orphan Black writer, Chris Roberts, is also Boat Rocker owned IP and is selling internationally following its premier on Corus on September 27. Meanwhile, the season -- the second season of Invasion has consistently been a top performer on Apple TV+ since its premier on August 23. Our Premium Documentary Slate continues to gain momentum with BS High for HBO and Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields for Hulu nominated for Critics Choice Documentary Awards.
We were also pleased to announce that Disney+ UK commissioned World War Shoe: Adidas vs. Puma, a new docuseries about the rivalry between 2 global brands. Three-part series is being produced alongside David Beckham’s Studio 99. In Kids & Family, The Next Step was renewed for ninth season by CBBC, becoming Boat Rocker's longest running scripted series. Dino Ranch season 3 is now airing on Disney+ and CBC, and will continue to deliver episodes over the course of the year and into 2024. We also recently announced a partnership with a global toy manufacturer Tonies to release Love Monster and Dino Ranch onto its bestselling interactive audio platform. There's no doubt that 2023 has presented significant and unique challenges to our industry and to our business. Against the backdrop of simultaneous labor action from 2 of Hollywood's biggest unions, large-scale global conflict and continued uncertainty in the financial markets, Boat Rocker's ability to continue delivering IP and solid financial results is particularly impressive.
Although we celebrate the hard work that got us here, we recognize that there are undoubtedly hurdles ahead. The WGA strike and ongoing actor strike have put immense pressure on our industry and will spur changes about the way it does business in the years to come. Regardless of the changes ahead, we continue to believe in the content we create and the demand for it worldwide. Most of all, we believe in the power of owning IP and our expertise in sourcing, producing and monetizing it. Boat Rocker has done this since day-1 and will continue to do so in any environment. We look forward to providing an update on our IP and our business when we report our year-end results.
Operator, that concludes our prepared statements this morning. We'd now like to begin the question-and-answer session.
[Operator Instructions] And our first question comes from Vince Valentini from TD Securities.
Let's start with current events. There's been a bit of scuttlebutt in the trade journals that agreements over using AI in films was somewhat resolved and that may lead to the actor strike coming to an end very, very soon. Just wondering if you're hearing anything on that front?
Yes. I mean, watching the trades and talking to our people, particularly in [indiscernible] that's what we're hearing as well. So the issues, particularly with SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP seem to be getting there. That said, we've been here for a few weeks or months now. So we're just as hopeful as you are. We believe they're very close to finalizing those points. AI certainly seems to be one of them, and we hope that they get there real soon. So we -- hopefully, we're at the end of this, and it would be great to get back going into the normal cycle of our business.
So obviously, I ask that first to segue into just trying to help us understand the time frames. As you can imagine, there's lots of different actors, if I can call that, in the production and broadcasting industries and there seem to be very different time frames of returning comedy series and drama series to maybe get -- the engine can restart in 2 months. Obviously, we saw things like nighttime talk shows come back almost within a week of the writer strike ending.
But new stuff that hasn't been greenlit yet [indiscernible] seems to be in a much longer time frame. So just to throw those goalposts out first. I mean, what are we talking about here? If the strike were to end before U.S. Thanksgiving, let's say, is that like a 6-month lead time before you can even get back to producing anything? Or is it 12 months? Any help you can give us?
Yes, Vince, it's David here. I think you're sort of nailing it on the head. Every type of show is different and every buyer has a different position vis-a-vis it's what it's going to spend its money on and how it's going to spend it. And so the renewals of existing series, the ones that especially are performing well or not performing at all, our view is that they're going to be targeted for renewal as quickly as possible for the reasons you outlined. Some of the projects that were in development and very, very close to greenlit before the strikes occurred, obviously, will and -- top development projects for the buyers are going to be placed, we believe, at the top of the list and could begin production very, very quickly. And then you just go down the list in terms of readiness for production. But remember, that's really only on the scripted drama side. The general slowdown in the industry has caused a lack of buying and lack of spending overall. But there are lots of different types of content being made out there in the kids space and in the unscripted space that don't require the lead time that the big scripted dramas do or even some of the comedies.
And so we think we're well positioned because of the multifaceted nature of our studio to be able to jump on opportunities. And also remember that we have -- we made 7 dramas last year, and some of them have been renewed and some of them were hoping to get renewed in 2024. So we're hopeful that we'll get some news there, but it's impossible to know at this point.
Okay. Just a couple of other housekeeping items. Maybe more curious than the business question, but Beacon 23, is that -- will we be able to see that somewhere in Canada in the next couple of months?
Hopefully, nothing that we can talk about yet, nothing has been announced, but I hope to has some good news for you.
And then Dino Ranch, the new season is showing on Disney+ you said, does that specifically exclude the Disney linear channels for some reason? Does that come later? Or is this a new way you're doing the deal that Disney+ has all the audiences anyway?
It would be on both, but Disney+ is -- it's on Disney+ and CBC, but in the U.S., you can see it on the...
Just to add to that, it did premier -- Season 3 did premier on Junior just at the middle of September there. So it's all on those Disney platforms.
Okay. Good. You really seemed to specify Disney+, so I just wanted to make sure that linear channels weren't excluded for some reason too. Good.
And our next question comes from Aravinda Galappatthige from Canaccord Genuity.
I wanted to start with a quick clarification. The release of rights, particularly with respect to Beacon 23, when you switched the platform, can you maybe just talk to the materiality of that? And I think in the MD&A, you've talked about 2 customers, I was wondering what the other instance was? Maybe I'll just start there.
I'm not sure I understand the question. Could you sort of repeat that, please, Aravinda?
Yes. So I think when Judy was talking about, I guess, the revenue variances last year, it was referred to that Beacon 23, there was a release of rights associated with the change from AMC to MGM+. I was wondering what that component was? Or was there anything unusual from an accounting perspective?
No, nothing unusual, Aravinda. And we called it out just because typically, we would recognize our revenue on episodic delivery. And so Beacon 23, we've only started to deliver. We only had one episode delivered this quarter. But because of our -- the arrangement and the settlement of the agreement with our original partners, we were able to recognize the revenue from them earlier because all our performance obligations were satisfied. So it's really just a timing issue. But when you look at our production revenues for Television and the variance over last year, I mean, a big chunk of that would be associated with the Beacon 23 stuff.
Okay. Okay. And then just switching gears to Family & Kids. Obviously, the decline in Q3 was sort of notable. But referring to some of the comments made earlier, do you have any visibility as to how quickly that segment can sort of recover given it's sort of less affected by sort of the labor shortages and so forth?
Yes. I think that there's going to -- sort of the same answer to the question before, the activity depends on what it is you're doing. The long lead time required for animation is very different from what you require for a multi-cam comedy or a single-cam comedy. And so those shows tend to be lower budgeted than the big strip to dramas, and they tend to get written sooner. So we would expect a quicker uptick on those and development to really ramp up for those projects as well. But again, it depends on buyer appetite, which we don't have visibility on right now.
Okay. And then lastly, I mean, you guys have sort of managed free cash flow pretty well through the sort of difficult backdrop. I mean, when we look to 2024, I mean, is there any kind of expectation? I mean, do you think that if the industry starts to kind of pick up in the second half of the year, could that potentially lead to sort of an imbalance in terms of perhaps increase burn in the second half of the year? Any visibility as to how sort of free cash flow could trend?
As you can imagine, Aravinda, it's a little early for us to get into that. I think as we've mentioned, we'll be looking to our budget in our process towards the end of this year and get ourselves ready to jump in as fast as we can with the development teams, particularly in scripted ramping up as quick as we can. Obviously, more on that to come as we talk about our 2024 guidance typically as we usually do at the end of the year. So it's a little early to sort of get into the details specifically on cash flow or free cash flow, which, as you know, does rely on our view as to what type of shows, how many shows, how the production financing for those shows is going to be put together.
So just a little bit early, is there -- and we're just signaling that, of course, with this slowdown as a lag, there definitely is going to be some negative factors at play there, specifically in the Television segment and [Scripted] segment.
And our next question comes from Drew McReynolds from RBC Capital Markets.
My strike question, I think you covered off kind of heading into 2024. David, maybe just that you first -- just as you look through all the kind of ongoing resolution of the issues, whether it's writers or actors, any sense of longer-term strike impacts here in the industry if you look out kind of 3 to 5 years? Is there anything kind of notable where really things are going to be materially different than what they once kind of were looking back 3 to 5 years?
We spent a lot of time talking about that, Drew and thinking about it. Obviously, the world 5 years ago was a very different place from what it is right now. And so to try to guess what it's going to look like in 5 years is a bit of a -- difficult and we -- as much as we talk about it, we try to think about it too much because the opportunities we try to take advantage of come faster than that.
I think our current view is that the demand for content will still be strong, but the deals getting done will vary and change over the course of the next couple of years just as they have. And so the opportunities will be into -- will be with working with buyers who are spending the money and looking for partners. Our objective is to own IP and to own rights and to monetize what we own. And so we're going to be looking for opportunities with buyers who have that kind of an appetite. There will -- our view is there will be consolidation and it will be very large budgeted -- extremely high budget scripted dramas that get made, predominantly by the streamers and the buyers who come out ahead and have the dollars to do it, and everybody else will be looking for partnerships and that's where a lot of the good opportunities will lie.
Okay. That's helpful. A couple of other just, I guess, more minor items. Maybe for you, John, on Dino Ranch, good to hear just kind of continues to obviously have momentum out there. Just on the consumer product side or [indiscernible] side, just remind us where we're at in kind of that multiyear ramp-up in build-out?
Yes, I think it's -- for us, it's always reminding ourselves that we're still in that early phase of building a global brand. We just -- say, Season 3 just launched mid-September. They were on Disney. Episodes rolled out throughout the rest of this year and into '24. We're building up the YouTube channel. We're getting really interesting and better numbers every month on that. I think we're up about 25% in September on the channel there too. We've got new licensees and products typically rolling out regularly.
I think this month, in fact, or just at the end of last month, we had some Tonies, a new product, as you may well be aware of in the consumer products, they are rolling out with a couple of brands and Disney -- Dino Ranch to launch with Tonies as well this year. So there continues to be that buildup. It's slower than we looked for. As you can see with some of the consumer products businesses and their views of the last number of quarters and indeed going into the next quarter or 2 is not where it used to be. It's a little slower and I'm sure macro-industry and macroeconomic impacts are affecting that. So we're still seeing a bit of that.
So I think for us, it's, again, just like all of this business coming out of these strikes, we've got to be patient. We know what we were capable of, we've got IP, we think that resonates and we're going to keep building and investing in the pieces of IP that we have, including very much so in Dino Ranch.
Okay. Super. Just 2 last ones from me. On the IP side, obviously, you're well aware some of your kind of Canadian peers shopping around some IP. Just bigger picture though, from an M&A perspective in sourcing this or acquiring it, how has that environment changed, if at all, here in 2023? And kind of what is your M&A appetite as we kind of look into 2024?
And then just second, from a modeling perspective, maybe for you, Judy, on Q4, clearly, we saw a great quarter here in Q3. Just remind us just what's being delivered on the premium side here in Q4? And then obviously, there's a shift on kind of Beacon premium revenues that presumably go from Q4 now to Q3, but just what else is on the slate there for Q4?
I'll jump in on the first part, Drew. So look, again, from an acquisition activity or M&A perspective, our team specifically in distribution, of course, is acquiring all the time. I think our plan has always been on the IP side to acquire and own as much as we can and I see that. And as David mentioned, we'll be ramping that up, I think, going into 2024 for sure. On the broader M&A activity, we are aware of what's out there and I think over the last, say, 6 to 12 months, probably accelerated some activity in that industry as various producers and distributors think about their focus going forward. So we're well aware of that activity. And again, all I can say at this point is we're going to look at every opportunity we can to prove to our investors the value of our company and particularly as it ties to our share price. So we're going to be looking at those things all the time to see if it makes sense for us if we can actually get a good and appropriate return as we allocate the cash that Judy mentioned earlier is building up nicely in the company.
Drew, it's Judy. Yes, just with respect to Q4, yes, we're going to -- it's going to be a much smaller quarter for Television segment as the timing shift of our revenues occurred earlier than anticipated in Q3. At this point in the year, in terms of our 7 scripted drama, it's pretty much fully delivered at this point other than Beacon 23 as we discussed. But we anticipate that to be fully delivered in Q4. As well, just as a reminder, last year was our largest quarter in Q4. So we're also up against sort of a tougher comp.
Okay. Understood.
And our next question comes from Sid Dilawari from Cormark Securities.
Just firstly on Untitled. I know this segment has been impacted by the actor strike. And just given the strike is ongoing, you might have limited visibility, but would appreciate any color for Q4 and beyond? Are we likely to see revenue being in line with Q3? Or is it likely to get worse before it gets better in Q4 and maybe in first half of 2024?
Yes. I think given where we're at with the strike and we're hoping for the best, of course, it's getting [indiscernible] and as Dave talked earlier about how things will take time, I think, yes, you should be thinking about Q3 as being similar.
Q4 being -- it's similar to Q3.
And then, I guess, similar profit margin, just given the operating leverage of the segment.
Okay. And then just one quick one on Kids & Family segment. It was down significantly versus last year, maybe just related to some timing issues. Just looking at a sell-off the half-hour deliveries, so it was 4 half hours versus 34. Can you just maybe talk about some of the deliveries that you have upcoming in Q4 for the Kids & Family segment that can maybe offset some in the TV?
Yes. It's really -- what we currently are working on is primarily just Dino -- Dino Ranch 3, and we'll continue to be delivering that in Q4.
Yes. We were up against a tough comp there again. We had Daniel Spellbound, we've loved more episodes of Daniel as well. So we were up against a tough comp there. But again, the shows that we were making, whether it's The Next Step, Dino and others continue to be shows that will be important pieces of IP going forward, Q4 and into 2024.
Yes. And I failed to mention -- sorry, I failed mention TNS 9, which is currently in production as well. And we plan to anticipate some deliveries in Q4 on that.
Okay. Great. And then just one last one from me. On the write-down of $15.2 million in the Unscripted segment, can you provide some more color as to what -- which IP that's related to?
Yes, I think we highlighted that in our MD&A, it's primarily in our Unscripted business. We -- as the team has mentioned, we saw sort of softening in that business throughout the year, but that further exasperated by the strike and as the -- this is an accounting assessment at a point in time. And with the outlook that we have at this moment in time, we felt that the impairment was necessary to take.
It's in part as well. So we saw this kind of coming as part wise, you've heard us talk about, again, sort of shifting our focus to IP. We can own the shorter form documentaries, other shorter form unscripted contents. So that's all part again of how we see that part of the business going forward. But as Judy said, yes, the write-down is something we looked at with that, specifically with the U.S. Unscripted business.
And at this time, there are no further questions. This now concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for attending, and have a great day.