Entertainment One yearly revs break £1BN barrier
Details
Editor
| 24 May 2017

The year could well have ended with the firm as an ITV division, but instead the still independent Entertainment One Group has posted strong revenue and profit growth driven by television and family, with stable results from film.

Results for the year ended 31 March 2017 showed that the group reported a 35% annual increase in revenue to total £1.083 billion, driving year-on-year EBITDA growth of 24%. Group adjusted profit before tax growth was up 25% compared with 2016 to amount to £160 million for the full year.

Looking at highlights of the year, the company points to what it calls ‘significant’ progress on the reshaping of the film business, including progress on Fox and Sony partnerships and the renegotiation of a distribution arrangement with partners. It was said it is also in the process of evolving its structure so that it can combine its film and television divisions into a single studio operation. Overall, Entertainment One believes it is on track to double the size of the business over the five years to FY20.

“Entertainment One has delivered a strong trading performance for the year, with very pleasing revenue growth from Television and Family, and another year of growth in underlying EBITDA,” commented chairman Allan Leighton. “It is particularly noteworthy that this performance includes significant organic growth and has been delivered against a backdrop of a recovering film business after two years of market volatility. This robust set of results allows the board to increase the dividend for the year to 1.3 pence, in line with its progressive policy.”

Looking forward to the new year, the company said that its television division is expected to see continued organic growth for FY18, with investment in acquired content for eOne Television expected to increase to over £40 million and production spend expected to grow to over £170 million. Investment in productions for The Mark Gordon Company is expected to decrease to around £80 million. Peppa Pig and PJ Masks would continue to be the drivers of growth for the Family business in FY18. Significantly the company recently announced that it would launch a new series of flagship children’s TV series Peppa Pig. The 117 new episodes will air over four years from spring 2019.