RLJ Entertainment Widens First-Quarter Loss

15 May, 2014 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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RLJ Entertainment May 15 reported a first-quarter (ended March 31) net loss of $10 million, compared with a net loss of $3.5 million during the previous-year period.

RLJ Entertainment, which includes Image Entertainment and Acorn Media Group, saw revenue decline $10 million to $30.2 million.

Principle factors included $1.1 million in sale returns associated with the termination of a feature film output deal; and the release timing of “Foyle’s War 9,” whose licensing revenue won’t be recognized until the third quarter. By comparison, licensing revenue from “Foyle’s War 8,” which made up the bulk of 2013 IP licensing revenue, was released in Q1 2013.

The decline in revenue was offset by $1.3 million increase in revenue from broadcast and VOD, and a $1.1 million increase in revenue from U.K. operations compared with the first quarter of 2013.

Meanwhile, RLJ saw growth in its proprietary digital networks within the direct-to-consumer segment with revenue of $746,000 compared with $179,000 last year. Subscribers for Acorn TV have grown more than 32% to approximately 75,000 subscribers since the end of December.

“Looking ahead, we remain committed to positioning RLJ Entertainment for growth over the long-term by securing additional cost savings, strengthening our content investment strategy through capital reallocation, and improving our balance sheet. As result of these ongoing efforts and continued progress on our digital distribution initiatives, the company remains on pace to deliver improved full-year adjusted [pre-tax earnings] over 2013,” CEO Miguel Penella said in a statement.

 

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