19th May 2015 07:23
LONDON (Alliance News) - Entertainment One Ltd Tuesday expressed confidence for its current financial year, as it posted a rise in pretax profit for its last financial year due to improved margins and lower costs.
The company posted a pretax profit of GBP44.0 million in the year to end-March, up from GBP21.5 million a year earlier, despite revenue falling to GBP785.8 million from GBP823.0 million. Profit was buoyed by improved margins in its Television business, and lower costs in its Film business.
The fall in revenue was as a result of a 13% decline in the company's Film unit, particularly in distribution, hit by lower box office takings. Entertainment One attributed this to a lower volume of releases during the year, and titles underperforming in a challenging year for the global box office.
Box office performance is expected to improve from 2015 and beyond as a number of big releases are expected, which will boost Entertainment One as it has a stronger film slate and around 250 film releases planned in the next financial year.
This offset a 32% rise in revenue in its Television unit, as it delivered more hours of programming in its production segment, and key brand 'Peppa Pig' boosted its family and licensing business.
The company proposed a final dividend of 1.1 pence, up from 1.0 pence a year before.
"Consumer demand for high quality content continues to grow, with a variety of digital media platforms emerging to service this demand. As these platforms enhance their offering and reach a wider global audience, we anticipate that audiences will increasingly focus on the quality of the content that they consume, gravitating towards premium television series, film and speciality genres. This market dynamic plays to Entertainment One's strengths and supports our strategy to double the size of the group within five years," said Chief Executive Darren Throop in a statement.
Shares in Entertainment One are trading up 2.0% at 325.00 pence Tuesday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Entertainment One