Entertainment One
Written by
Entertainment One |
Independent library valuation increased by 50% |
Trading update |
Media |
30 September 2016 |
Share price performance
Business description
Next events
Analysts
Entertainment One is a research client of Edison Investment Research Limited |
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Entertainment One (eOne) has had a strong first half operationally and, with a good pipeline in Television, Film and the ongoing roll-out of the Family brands internationally, is on track to deliver on its underlying full year expectations. The annual independent library valuation has been updated and has increased by approximately 50% to $1.5bn (£1.2bn), covering the greater part of eOne’s market value, leaving little in the rating for its extensive production and sales network.
Year |
Revenue (£m) |
EBITDA (£m) |
PBT* |
EPS* |
DPS |
P/E |
Yield |
03/15 |
785.8 |
107.3 |
88.8 |
20.8 |
1.1 |
10.2 |
0.5 |
03/16 |
802.7 |
129.1 |
104.1 |
19.4 |
1.2 |
11.0 |
0.6 |
03/17e |
1,003.1 |
157.0 |
126.7 |
20.0 |
1.3 |
10.7 |
0.6 |
03/18e |
1,093.9 |
178.0 |
149.4 |
23.7 |
1.4 |
9.0 |
0.7 |
Note: *PBT and EPS are normalised, excluding amortisation of acquired intangibles, exceptional items and share-based payments.
On track for the full year
eOne has had a strong operating performance in the first half of the year, with the underlying trends of each division developing in line with management’s expectations for the full year. All divisions have had a good period: Television is on track to deliver 1,100 half-hours of content for the full year, benefiting from three new commissions, the Renegade acquisition and a strong performance from international sales. The Mark Gordon Company (MGC) has started delivery of the first show under the new independent studio model, Designated Survivor, which has debuted very well. In Family, Peppa continues its international roll-out with the US merchandising programme ahead of plan, a good start in China and newer brand, PJ Masks, also developing well. Film has had a number of high-profile releases in H1 and management continues to work towards its FY18 target of £10m of annualised cost savings.
All divisions faring well, upgrade for FX
The pipeline for Television and Film looks promising, as is the outlook for Peppa, which will start airing its new 52-episode series in the autumn and has laid strong foundations in the US and China. We are retaining our underlying forecasts for the group, but amend them to capture sterling’s depreciation. Overall, this leads to an increase in our FY17 and FY18 EPS forecasts by 4% and 2% respectively.
Valuation: Library valuation increased to $1.5bn
eOne has also reported a significant increase in the independent valuation of its library, to $1.5bn (as of 31 March 2016) from c $1bn. The main component of the increase relates to last year’s acquisition of a further 35% share of the Peppa Pig brand, along with a strong underlying performance in Family. This valuation is now almost the same as eOne’s current enterprise value, leaving very little in the rating for the value of ‘front-list’ titles or the value of eOne’s extensive production and sales network.
Trading update
Full year on track
While eOne’s H1 trading update does not include any specific financial data, there is plenty of encouraging operational data, and management has said it expects a strong first half operating performance, with the full year on track to reach its underlying expectations. Year-on-year comparisons can jump around considerably depending on the timing of the film release schedule; however, the first half of the year to September tends to be the smaller one (40% of FY16 EBITDA).
Television: eOne Television is on track to deliver around 1,100 half-hours of content (+10% y-o-y). In production, in scripted drama there have been three new commissions (Cardinal, Ransom and Foreign Bodies) and it has secured second series commissions of Private Eyes and You Me Her. Non-scripted has also performed well, benefiting from Renegade’s (acquired in March 2016) new series Naked and Afraid, as has the international sales business. Looking into the second half of the year, the pipeline for both scripted and non-scripted is reportedly strong (including Rogue 4, Saving Hope 5, ICE and Mary Kills People).
The Mark Gordon Company (MGC) has now started delivery of the first show, Designated Survivor, under the new independent studio model. The show has had a strong debut on ABC as the strongest scripted telecast in its time slot for several years, with 45% more viewers than its closest time slot competitor and international sales for the show (also handled now by eOne) have been very strong, including a worldwide (excluding the US) streaming deal with Netflix. Production is now also underway for Conviction, which is due to premier on ABC in October. MGC continues to work on its existing five renewed series and has commenced production on two high-profile, Disney-commissioned films.
Family: Peppa continues its international roll-out and is performing according to plan. In the US, demand for merchandising has been stronger than expected across a number of product categories and the brand is also gaining significant attention in China, with an incredible 6bn views over the last 12 months on local online video sites (iQiyi, Youku and Tudou) and a good rating on state television broadcaster CCTV for its pre-school target market. Ahead of the winter season, a large range of merchandising has been launched by major online retailers including Jingdong and Tmall, as well as by Toys R Us nationwide. The new 52-part series is currently being delivered and is expected to air in the autumn. By refreshing the content, eOne is able to introduce new story lines and characters, which should support the lifetime of the brand.
Film: after two difficult years, Film has had a stronger period in the box office. Although the absolute number of releases is down year-on-year (85 vs 96 last year), there have been a number of high-profile releases including the BFG and David Brent: Life on the Road. Year to date box office takings were $151m compared to $97m last year. While Film will continue to face headwinds in the home entertainment markets, the second-half outlook for the box office also looks relatively strong compared to recent years (including The Girl on the Train, A Monster Calls, La La Land, Office Christmas Party), and a stronger box office this year in Film should support sales in broadcast and digital, as well as the more difficult home entertainment market next year. It continues to work on its restructuring of the film division to deliver £10m of annualised savings (1.5-2% of Film revenues) from 2018.
Forecast changes: Update for currency
eOne has some sensitivity to currency movements, both translation (75% of revenues were generated overseas in FY16) and transactional (eg minimum guarantees, MGs, are usually denominated in US$). It uses forward contracts for significant transactions where there are highly probable forecasts (mainly MG payments) and there is some natural hedging (matching costs and debt with assets). However, we expect some impact from the depreciation of sterling.
We make no change to our underlying forecasts, which already factor in a strong performance in Television and Family and a better theatrical performance for Film in FY17. However, we upgrade our estimates to take account of sterling’s depreciation.
Exhibit 1: Summary forecast changes
2017e |
2018e |
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Previous |
New |
Change |
Previous |
New |
Change |
|
Revenues (£m) |
974 |
1,003 |
3.0% |
1,072 |
1,094 |
2.1% |
EBITDA (£m) |
152 |
157 |
3.0% |
175 |
178 |
1.7% |
PBT - normalised |
122 |
127 |
3.8% |
146 |
149 |
2.0% |
EPS (p) |
19 |
20 |
4.2% |
23 |
24 |
2.1% |
Net debt |
171 |
169 |
-1.0% |
129 |
125 |
-3.1% |
IPF |
190 |
190 |
-0.1% |
215 |
215 |
0.1% |
Source: Edison Investment Research
Library valuation: Increase in library value to $1.5bn
Historically, eOne was required to undertake an independent valuation of its library annually to support its banking facilities. Last year’s refinancing means this is no longer a requirement. However, eOne continues to provide this valuation to the market. The most recent valuation, dated 31 March 2016, was conducted by Salem Partners (it previously used FTI Consulting). The $1.5bn is a c 50% increase on the previous valuation, primarily reflecting a strong performance from the group’s Family properties, and the additional 35% interest in Peppa Pig, acquired for £140m ($182m) in October 2015. Although detail has not been provided on the basis on which this valuation has been made we understand that the discount rate and allocated overhead costs are consistent with those used in the March 2015 valuation (8.3% WACC and 6% overhead allocation). At a US$:GBP exchange rate of 1.3, this converts to a library valuation of £1.2bn.
eOne’s EV is £1.2bn (including production finance), or about £1.3bn including the minority value of 51%-owned MGC (since the library value includes 100% of MGC’s library, which is all available for distribution through eOne’s network). Even allowing for some need to adjust for other Television JV minorities, this suggests that the greater part of eOne’s market value is underpinned by the library, leaving little in the rating for its extensive production and sales network.
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Exhibit 2: eOne’s library valuation over time |
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Source: eOne |
Exhibit 3: Financial summary
£m |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017e |
2018e |
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Year end 31 March |
IFRS |
IFRS |
IFRS |
IFRS |
IFRS |
||
PROFIT & LOSS |
|||||||
Revenue |
823.0 |
785.8 |
802.7 |
1,003.1 |
1,093.9 |
||
Cost of Sales |
(642.3) |
(578.0) |
(610.1) |
(762.4) |
(831.4) |
||
Gross Profit |
180.7 |
207.8 |
192.6 |
240.8 |
262.5 |
||
EBITDA |
92.8 |
107.3 |
129.1 |
157.0 |
178.0 |
||
Operating Profit |
90.2 |
103.6 |
124.7 |
151.7 |
172.2 |
||
Amortisation of intangibles |
(36.0) |
(22.2) |
(27.4) |
(33.0) |
(30.0) |
||
Exceptional items |
(22.1) |
(17.9) |
(16.6) |
(7.5) |
0.0 |
||
Share based payment charge |
(2.7) |
(3.4) |
(5.7) |
(4.0) |
(4.0) |
||
JV tax, finance costs, dep'n |
0.0 |
0.1 |
(1.6) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Operating Profit |
29.4 |
60.2 |
73.4 |
107.2 |
138.2 |
||
Net Interest |
(11.8) |
(14.8) |
(20.6) |
(25.0) |
(22.9) |
||
Exceptional finance items |
3.9 |
(1.4) |
(6.5) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Profit Before Tax (norm) |
78.4 |
88.8 |
104.1 |
126.7 |
149.4 |
||
Profit Before Tax (FRS 3) |
21.5 |
44.0 |
47.9 |
82.2 |
115.4 |
||
Tax (reported) |
(1.5) |
(2.7) |
(7.7) |
(16.4) |
(23.1) |
||
Tax (adjustment for normalised earnings) |
|
(18.4) |
(16.8) |
(16.2) |
(12.2) |
(10.5) |
|
Profit After Tax (before non-controlling interests) (norm) |
58.5 |
69.3 |
80.2 |
98.1 |
115.8 |
||
Profit After Tax (before non-controlling interests) (FRS3) |
20.0 |
41.2 |
40.2 |
65.8 |
92.3 |
||
Non-controlling interests |
0.0 |
0.0 |
(4.2) |
(12.6) |
(14.0) |
||
Average Number of Shares, Diluted (m) |
318.7 |
332.9 |
379.1 |
427.3 |
429.4 |
||
EPS - normalised (p) |
18.4 |
20.8 |
19.4 |
20.0 |
23.7 |
||
EPS - FRS 3 (p) |
5.5 |
12.7 |
9.8 |
12.6 |
18.5 |
||
Dividend per share (p) |
1.0 |
1.1 |
1.2 |
1.3 |
1.4 |
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Gross Margin (%) |
22.0 |
26.4 |
24.0 |
24.0 |
24.0 |
||
EBITDA Margin (%) |
11.3 |
13.7 |
16.1 |
15.7 |
16.3 |
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Operating Margin (before GW and except) (%) |
11.0 |
13.2 |
15.5 |
15.1 |
15.7 |
||
BALANCE SHEET |
|||||||
Non-current Assets |
366.0 |
538.4 |
890.7 |
927.8 |
915.5 |
||
Intangible Assets (incl Investment in programmes) |
343.1 |
473.9 |
808.2 |
846.4 |
835.5 |
||
Tangible Assets |
5.5 |
6.1 |
60.1 |
64.8 |
70.0 |
||
Deferred tax/Investments |
17.4 |
58.4 |
22.4 |
16.6 |
10.1 |
||
Current Assets |
559.9 |
634.3 |
752.0 |
770.4 |
842.1 |
||
Stocks |
47.2 |
52.0 |
51.1 |
51.1 |
51.1 |
||
Investment in content rights |
230.1 |
221.1 |
241.3 |
267.9 |
282.3 |
||
Debtors |
243.7 |
289.9 |
351.3 |
401.4 |
458.7 |
||
Cash |
38.9 |
71.3 |
108.3 |
50.0 |
50.0 |
||
Current Liabilities |
(449.2) |
(488.3) |
(568.7) |
(565.1) |
(561.0) |
||
Creditors |
(401.1) |
(398.7) |
(470.7) |
(467.1) |
(463.0) |
||
Short term borrowings |
(48.1) |
(89.6) |
(98.0) |
(98.0) |
(98.0) |
||
Long Term Liabilities |
(168.6) |
(319.6) |
(413.6) |
(415.6) |
(396.8) |
||
Long term borrowings |
(155.9) |
(295.9) |
(309.1) |
(311.1) |
(292.3) |
||
Other long term liabilities |
(12.7) |
(23.7) |
(104.5) |
(104.5) |
(104.5) |
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Net Assets |
308.1 |
364.8 |
660.4 |
717.6 |
799.9 |
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CASH FLOW |
|||||||
Operating Cash Flow |
264.2 |
271.9 |
320.3 |
480.3 |
586.4 |
||
Net Interest |
(10.7) |
(13.4) |
(31.0) |
(25.0) |
(22.9) |
||
Tax |
(5.9) |
(10.8) |
(17.7) |
(20.0) |
(27.7) |
||
Capex |
(4.2) |
(4.8) |
(8.6) |
(10.0) |
(11.0) |
||
Acquisitions/disposals |
(6.1) |
(104.3) |
(226.0) |
(5.2) |
0.0 |
||
Investment in content rights and TV programmes |
(281.4) |
(280.8) |
(218.5) |
(475.0) |
(500.0) |
||
Proceeds on issue of shares |
0.0 |
0.0 |
194.6 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Dividends |
0.0 |
(2.9) |
(4.0) |
(5.3) |
(6.0) |
||
Net Cash Flow |
(44.1) |
(145.1) |
9.1 |
(60.3) |
18.8 |
||
Opening net debt/(cash) |
144.5 |
165.1 |
314.2 |
298.8 |
359.1 |
||
Movements in exchangeable notes |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Other including forex |
23.5 |
(4.0) |
6.3 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Closing IFRS debt/(cash) |
165.1 |
314.2 |
298.8 |
359.1 |
340.3 |
||
IFRS net debt split as: |
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Production finance |
54.0 |
89.3 |
118.0 |
189.8 |
215.2 |
||
Net debt |
111.1 |
224.9 |
180.8 |
169.3 |
125.1 |
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Source: eOne (historics), Edison Investment Research (forecasts)
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