Wild Bunch AG
Wild Bunch AG publishes interim announcement as of 30 September 2015
Wild Bunch AG / Release of an announcement according to Article 37x of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act] 19.11.2015 10:34 Interim report according to Article 37x of the WpHG, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wild Bunch AG, ISIN DE000A13SXB0, Symbol WBAG Wild Bunch AG publishes interim announcement as of 30 September 2015 - Business developments: creation of Wild Bunch TV and Chinese partnership - Fourth quarter critical to full year revenue and adjusted EBIT Berlin/Paris, 19 November 2015 - Wild Bunch AG ('Wild Bunch') has closed the first three quarters of the year 2015 with revenues of EUR 89.9 million. As compared to last year, the former Senator Entertainment AG ('Senator') recorded revenues of EUR 15.1 million during the same period. In the 2015 fiscal year, revenue is expected to grow by a factor of six to seven times compared to Senator's published revenue for 2014. Despite one-time integration and merger costs incurred as part of the merger process in the 2015 fiscal year, the Management Board expects to see a significant increase in operating profit compared with former Senator in 2014. CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS In September, Wild Bunch launched Wild Bunch TV, extending its activities to coproduction and distribution of TV series dedicated to the international market. This expansion is a key component of Wild Bunch content diversification strategy. The company also announced its first two series: MEDICI: MASTERS OF FLORENCE, an eight-part English speaking Italian series about the rise of the Medici family and the Italian Renaissance and FOUR SEASONS IN HAVANA, an eight-part Spanish series based upon the popular book collection by Cuban-born, novelist and journalist Leonardo Padura. During third quarter, Wild Bunch, together with Chinese entertainment investment fund China Film and TV Capital (CFATC), finalized negotiations for the creation of the China Europe Film Fund (CEFF), a unique entity dedicated to the development and financing of pictures co-produced by Chinese and European producers. CEFF has been officially launched on November 3rd at the occasion of the official visit of French President François Hollande to Chinese President Xi Jinping. For Wild Bunch, China is a key market to sell its movies and represent an important source of movies for its distribution network. These content and geographical expansions confirm Wild Bunch strategy and ambition and are significant headways to transform the company into an undisputed leader in the filmed entertainment industry, growing fast and profitably. ACTIVITIES THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION As compared to 2014, the trend in the Group's core European markets in the third quarter of 2015 remains overall positive. While the number of admissions increased in Germany, Italy and Spain, the French market decreased by 5% but remains the strongest market. Total revenues from German cinemas from January to September amounted to EUR 757.6 million (prior year period: EUR 690.6 million), which represents a growth of 9.7%.French box office amounted to EUR 878.2 million, which shows a decrease of 5.1% (prior year period: EUR 925.0 million). In Spain, box office rose by 5.2% to EUR 414.4 million (prior year period: EUR 394.1 million), and in Italy box office revenues amounted to EUR 432.9 million (prior year period: EUR 414.8 million), which represents an increase of 4.4%. The Group released a total of 13 movies through its distribution network in the third quarter. In Germany and Austria, four movies were released, including the animated comedy OOOPS - NOAH IS GONE by Toby Genkel & Sean McCormack and horror film SINISTER 2 by Ciarán Foy also released in French cinemas, where the Group totalized the release of three movies. Five films were released in Spain, including AMY by Asif Kapadia and WHILE WE WERE YOUNG by Noah Baumbach, while one movie was released in Italy. For the fourth quarter of 2015, the company plans to release 22 films in cinemas in France, Germany/Austria, Italy and Spain. INTERNATIONAL SALES In the third quarter of 2015, the Group activated the international sales of ten new films including LOVE by Gaspard Noé, ICE AND THE SKY by Luc Jacquet, LOLO by Julie Delpy or THE LITTLE PRINCE by Mark Osborne. The third quarter is marked by 3 important markets for international sales, Mostra of Venice, Toronto International Film Festival and San Sebastian Film Festival during which Wild Bunch movies won such awards as for: OUR LITTLE SISTER by Kore-Eda Hirokazu (audience award) and EVOLUTION by Lucile Hadzihalilovic (Special Jury and Best Cinematography awards). The sales of PLAYMOBIL: ROBBERS, THIEVES & REBELS, an $ 80 million animated movie based on the popular kid's toy line for which Wild Bunch handles international sales, were launched in Toronto. DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION AND HOME ENTERTAINMENT Globally, in Wild Bunch key markets, the demand for physical videos has declined since beginning of 2015 while VoD increasingly contributed to total revenues in the video market. At the same time, the Free and Pay TV market is still challenged with the development of new channel networks such as Multi Channel Networks or the expansion of SVOD services such as Netflix. In the third quarter of 2015, a number of movies sold by Wild Bunch to local TVs recorded high audiences such as GREAT HOPE SPRING on ARD in Germany or SAFE on D8 in France while some movies were successfully released on DVD such as SAMBA in Germany or Season 5 of THE WALKING DEAD or LES CHEVALIERS DU ZODIAQUE in France. In September, the 2015 Deauville Grand Prize went to the movie 99 HOMES by Ramin Bahrani. This movie is part of the e-Cinema program launched by Wild Bunch, as a new distribution channel dedicated to the distribution of ambitious movies directly in video-on-demand, supported by a big marketing campaign and the willingness to propose them to the largest possible audience. Q4 2015 AND OUTLOOK In addition, the company is still actively working at both its financial restructuring and its expansion, including but not limited to external growth via acquisitions. As every year, the last quarter is of key importance for the company, with a significant number of movies to be released and an important part of internationally sold movies to be delivered to clients, thus triggering revenue booking. Contact: Investor Relations cometis AG Ulrich Wiehle / Thorben Burbach Phone: +49 (611) 205855-23 e-mail: burbach@cometis.de 19.11.2015 The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: Wild Bunch AG Knesebeckstraße 59-61 10719 Berlin Germany Internet: www.senator.de End of Announcement DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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