Credit Raj Giri for the write-up.
WWE issued the following today. You can check out the full Q4 earnings release at this link:
WWE REPORTS Q4 2014 RESULTS
STAMFORD, Conn., February 12, 2015 – WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014. Revenues for the quarter increased 19% to $140.5 million from $118.4 million in the fourth quarter last year. For the quarter, the Company reported a Net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.02 loss per share, as compared to a Net loss of $7.9 million, or $0.10 loss per share, in the prior year quarter. The revenue increase was driven by the Network and Television segments with earnings growth driven primarily by the rise in television rights fees. Excluding items affecting comparability, Adjusted OIBDA increased to $5.1 million from a loss of $5.6 million and Adjusted Net loss was $0.6 million, or $0.01 loss per share, as compared to a Net loss of $7.9 million, or $0.10 loss per share, in the prior year quarter.
“During the quarter, we remained focused on growing WWE Network, which surpassed 1 million subscribers in January 2015, just 11 months after launch. Subscriber growth was driven by a successful free November promotion, the launch of the service in the UK and the strength of our Royal Rumble event,” stated Vince McMahon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that our 2015 road map provides significant opportunities for growth, as we continue to execute well, innovate faster and expand WWE Network, the single greatest opportunity to transform WWE’s business model.”
“In the fourth quarter, we continued to execute our WWE Network strategy, and we generated earnings growth driven by the escalation of our television rights fees. For the quarter, our adjusted OIBDA surpassed our most recent public guidance associated with an average of 721,000 paid subscribers,” added George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer. “Over the year, key brand metrics remained strong. Raw and SmackDown TV ratings increased 2% and 3%, respectively. Consumption of WWE content on YouTube increased more than 80% to approximately 3.9 billion video views and our social media presence grew more than 80% and recently surpassed 450 million followers. Importantly, we believe that we have reached a financial inflection point. In 2015, we expect year-over-year Adjusted OIBDA growth in every quarter, with growth driven by the performance of WWE Network, the escalation of our television rights fees as well as continued innovation across our businesses.”
