WildBrain’s revenue increased 12% to $126.7m in the company’s fiscal Q1, compared to $112.6m for the same period in 2022.
WildBrain has reported its first quarter results for the period ended 30th September, 2022, with CEO Eric Ellenblogen stating that the company will continue to layer on more premium content deals to drive consumer products.
In the fiscal Q1, revenue increased 12% to $126.7m, compared to $112.6m in the same period 2022, reflecting growth across WildBrain’s content-driven businesses in Content Production and Distribution.
Content Production and Distribution revenue grew 40% to $52.8m, compared to $37.6m in fiscal Q1 2022. The increase was driven by higher revenue from premium projects including Caillou Specials and Malory Towers as well as a ramp-up in live action productions in the current quarter.
Consumer Products revenue increased 7% to $52.1m in the fiscal Q1, compared to $48.5m in 2022, due to the continuation of strong licensing royalties from the Peanuts franchise, supported by consistent output of content on Apple TV+ and the synergies of the company’s vertically integrated licensing business.
Revenue decreased 25% to $11.6m, compared to $15.4m in 2022, driven by softer advertising revenue due to macroeconomic headwinds. Kids continued to be highly engaged on WildBrain Spark, particularly in its brands, attracting over 45b views across more than 7b minutes of videos watched on its network in the financial period.
Adjusted EBITDA was $19.9m, the same as in 2022.
“Fiscal 2023 is off to a good start with solid top-line growth, particularly in our content production and distribution segments,” said WildBrain CEO, Eric Ellenbogen. “Our content continues to resonate with distribution partners around the world who value premium, high-quality shows for our beloved brands, such as Caillou, Chip and Potato and Teletubbies.”
Sonic Prime, a new series co-producied with Sega, premieres on December 15th on Netflix. “We continue to layer on more premium content deals to drive consumer products upside and grow our long-term earnings base,” added Eric. “For Peanuts, in particular, our consistent output of new content on Apple TV+ and the synergies of our vertically integrated business are furthering what we see as a long runway for growth in consumer products.”
“Our results were strong as we continue to build on the investments we’ve made in the business to increase monetization of our assets and provide a solid foundation for sustainable growth,” commented Aaron Ames, WildBrain CFO. “We reiterate our guidance for Fiscal 2023 revenue in the range of $525m to $575m and adjusted EBITDA between $95m to $105m.”
