The WWE announced its earnings for Q3 2015 on Thursday. The company reported net income of $10.4 million ($0.14 per share) compared to a loss of $5.9 million ($0.08 loss per share) in Q3 last year. The results bested most analyst expectations although the stock for the day dropped almost 13% as a result of profit taking.
Total revenue generated for the quarter ending September 30, 2015 were $492.6 million, up from $402.1 million the prior year period. North America revenue were $373.6 million, up from $318.9 million from September 30, 2014.
The net revenues were $166.2 million at the end of the 3rd quarter as opposed to $120.2 million at the same time last year.
As for the WWE Network, it has about 1.3 million subscribers at the end of the quarter which is better than last year’s 515,000. WWE CFO George Barrios indicated that the average for the WWE Network was 1,173,000. At the end of Q3, the WWE Network had 1.233 million paid subscribers and 73,000 free subscribers as a result of the WWE’s rolling “free” months for new customers. It’s up from the 1.15 million at the end of Q2 but down from 1.33 million at the end of Q1. The Network revenues are up to $118.6 million. Last year, at the end of Q3, they were $87.8 million.
The WWE plans to launch the network in Germany and Japan in January. It also will be available on the Indian subcontinent on November 2.
According to the WWE press release, it has secured 37 new advertisers from the NBC Universal Upfront.
Vince McMahon touted the success of the reported earnings to the value from the WWE’s content. He also emphasized the television rights deal and network revenue in attributing the international growth which was reported at 43% through the first 9 months of 2015.
Other notes from the earnings call:
Live events revenue increased 20% to $26.1 million from $21.8 million which related to 6 additional events and higher average ticket prices in North America.
Consumer products increased 21% to $22.4 million from $18.5 million in the prior year quarter. WWE Shop showed an increase over last year’s third quarter as it was up to $6 million from $4.3 million in revenue.
Per Chris Harrington, the WWE barely touched on the ongoing concussion lawsuits only that there have been “increased legal expenses.”
The WWE introduced a 3 month subscription card at Walmart providing a “no credit card required” payment option.
There were 360,000 PPV buys equating to $4.5 million revenue for three events in Q3. Thus, on average, despite the network about 120,000 households per event still purchase PPVs.
Payout Perspective:
The key takeaway might be that the WWE expects its WWE television rights fees and the growth of WWE Network subscribers will be the key drivers of WWE’s future revenue growth. The WWE’s move to produce more live, original content for its Network is evidence that the company is investing heavy into its OTT platform as key for the future. It’s interesting to note that the WWE did not address the reason for its “increased legal expenses.” Then again, it’s likely that it did not want to make any comment on ongoing litigation. Overall, the earnings report reflects a healthy company with earnings growth.
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