21st Century Fox Reports First Quarter Income From Continuing Operations Attributable To 21st Century Fox Stockholders Of $1.29 Billion

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. ("21st Century Fox" or the "Company" --NASDAQ: FOXA, FOX) today reported financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2018.

The Company reported quarterly income from continuing operations attributable to 21st Century Fox stockholders of $1.29 billion ($0.69 per share), a 54% increase compared to $839 million ($0.45 per share) reported in the prior year quarter.   The current quarter income from continuing operations attributable to 21st Century Fox stockholders includes a non-cash tax benefit of approximately $220 million, or $0.11 per share, related to the Company's decision on September 26, 2018 to sell its interest in Sky plc ("Sky"). Adjusted quarterly earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to 21st Century Fox stockholders¹ was $0.52, 6% higher than the adjusted result of $0.49 reported in the same quarter of the prior year.

The Company reported total quarterly revenues of $7.18 billion, a 2% increase from the $7.00 billion of revenues reported in the prior year quarter. This increase principally reflects higher affiliate and advertising revenues reported at the Television and Cable segments partially offset by lower theatrical revenue reported at the Filmed Entertainment segment. The impact of foreign exchange rates adversely impacted revenue growth by approximately $110 million, or 2% in total.

Quarterly income from continuing operations before income tax expense of $1.48 billion increased 15% from the $1.30 billion reported in the prior year quarter.  Quarterly total segment OIBDA of $1.87 billion was 5% higher than the prior year quarter driven by higher contributions reported at our Television, Cable Network Programming and Filmed Entertainment segments.  The impact of foreign exchange rates negatively impacted quarterly OIBDA growth by $58 million, or 3%.

Commenting on the results, Executive Chairmen Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch said:

"We continue to deliver against our growth plan even as we make important strides toward completing our Disney transaction and launching FOX in the first half of 2019.   We have assembled a stellar leadership team for FOX, giving us further confidence in the new company's ability to capture opportunities in live programming while delivering long-term value for shareholders.  Our quarterly performance builds on the operational and financial achievements of last year and sets up our businesses for continued momentum under both the enlarged Disney and the future FOX."

REVIEW OF SEGMENT OPERATING RESULTS

CABLE NETWORK PROGRAMMING

Cable Network Programming reported quarterly segment OIBDA of $1.54 billion, a 2% increase over the prior year quarter as 4% revenue growth on higher affiliate and advertising revenues was partially offset by a 5% increase in expenses. The increase in expenses was primarily due to higher global sports programming costs reflecting the impact of the FIFA World Cup at both FS1 and FOX Networks Group International ("FNG International") and contractual increases at the Regional Sports Networks ("RSNs").  Foreign exchange fluctuations, primarily in Latin America, adversely impacted segment OIBDA growth by 4%.   

Domestic cable revenue increased 7% led by higher affiliate and advertising revenues partially offset by lower content revenue due to lower third-party licensing of scripted content at FX Networks.   Domestic affiliate revenue increased 9% reflecting continued contractual rate increases across all of our domestic brands, and domestic advertising revenue increased 7% from the prior year period largely due to higher pricing at FOX News.  Domestic OIBDA contributions increased 6% over the prior year quarter led by higher contributions from FOX News and the RSNs.   

International cable revenue declined 4% as higher constant currency affiliate revenue was more than offset by a 9% adverse impact from the strengthened U.S. dollar.  International affiliate revenue decreased 1% as 10% local currency growth at FNG International and STAR was more than offset by an 11% adverse impact from the strengthened U.S. dollar. International advertising revenue decreased 8% as the adverse impact from the strengthened U.S. dollar and lower local currency advertising revenue at FNG International more than offset local currency advertising growth at STAR.  International OIBDA contributions were 24% lower than the prior year quarter primarily due to the adverse impact from the strengthened U.S. dollar.

TELEVISION

Television reported quarterly segment OIBDA of $168 million, an increase of $46 million, or 38%, over the amount reported in the prior year quarter on revenue growth of 20%.   Advertising revenue was 22% higher than the prior year quarter reflecting a higher volume of sports broadcast in the current year quarter, including FIFA World Cup matches and more National Football League games, as well as higher political advertising revenue related to the midterm U.S. elections at the TV stations.  Retransmission consent revenue grew 19% over the prior year reflecting contractual rate increases.  The revenue increases were partially offset by 17% higher expenses due to higher sports programming costs reflecting the higher volume of National Football League games and FIFA World Cup matches in the current year.  

FILMED ENTERTAINMENT

Filmed Entertainment generated quarterly segment OIBDA of $277 million, an 8% increase over the $256 million reported in the prior year quarter. The OIBDA increase reflects higher contributions from the television production studio led by higher SVOD licensing of animated product.   Quarterly segment revenues decreased 7% to $1.82 billion, primarily reflecting lower theatrical revenue at the film studio from a lower volume and mix of films released in the current quarter partially offset by higher SVOD revenue at the television production studio.  

REVIEW OF EQUITY EARNINGS OF AFFILIATES' RESULTS

The Company's share of equity earnings of affiliates is as follows:

Quarterly equity earnings of affiliates were $35 million as compared to $60 million reported in the same period a year-ago.  The $25 million decrease in earnings primarily reflects higher equity losses at Hulu partially offset by higher equity earnings at Sky.    

OTHER ITEMS

Acquisition by Disney and Spin-Off of FOX

On June 20, 2018, the Company entered into an amended and restated merger agreement (the "Disney Merger Agreement") with The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) pursuant to which Disney has agreed to acquire, for a price of $38 per Company share, the Company, including the Twentieth Century Fox Film and Television studios and certain cable and international television businesses.  Prior to the acquisition by Disney, the Company will separate the FOX Broadcasting Company, FOX Television Stations, FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network and certain other assets and liabilities into a newly formed subsidiary, FOX, and distribute all of the issued and outstanding common stock of FOX to the Company's stockholders on a pro rata basis. The closing of the transactions contemplated by the Disney Merger Agreement are subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including, among others, regulatory approvals and the receipt of certain tax opinions with respect to the treatment of the transaction under U.S. and Australian tax laws.  The pending acquisition of the Company by Disney was cleared by the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice on June 27, 2018 and by the European Commission on November 6, 2018.

On July 27, 2018 at a special meeting of the Company's stockholders, the Company's stockholders approved the Disney Merger Agreement and approved the other proposals voted on at the special meeting. 

The Company anticipates the transactions closing in the first half of calendar 2019. 

Disposition of Sky Shares

Following the recommended revised cash offer by Comcast Corporation ("Comcast") for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Sky at a price of £17.28 for each Sky share, the Company announced during the quarter that it intended to dispose of its stake in Sky. On October 9, 2018, the Company sold its 672,783,139 Sky shares to Comcast for total proceeds of £11.6 billion, or $15.1 billion.

To access a copy of this press release through the Internet, access 21st Century Fox's corporate Web site located at http://www.21cf.com.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements are based on management's views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance as of the time the statements are made.  Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global economic, business, competitive market and regulatory factors, and the proposed Disney transaction may not be consummated in a timely manner or at all.  More detailed information about these and other factors that could affect future results is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and more detailed information about these and other factors and risks associated with the proposed Disney transaction are more fully discussed in the updated joint proxy statement/prospectus included in the Form S-4 that was declared effective by the SEC on June 28, 2018  and will be more fully discussed in the registration statement with respect to FOX. Investors and shareholders of the Company are urged to read the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents filed or to be filed with the SEC carefully when they become available because they will contain important information about the proposed Disney transaction. The "forward-looking statements" included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and we do not have any obligation to publicly update any "forward-looking statements" to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

NOTE 1 – TOTAL SEGMENT OPERATING INCOME BEFORE DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION

The Company evaluates the performance of its operating segments based on segment operating income before depreciation and amortization ("OIBDA"), and management uses total segment OIBDA as a measure of the performance of operating businesses separate from non-operating factors.  Total segment OIBDA may be considered a non-GAAP measure and should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, net income, cash flow and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. In addition, this measure does not reflect cash available to fund requirements.  This measure excludes items, such as depreciation and amortization as well as impairment charges, that are significant components in assessing the Company's financial performance.

Management believes that total segment OIBDA is an appropriate measure for evaluating the operating performance of the Company's business and provides investors and equity analysts a measure to analyze operating performance of the Company's business and enterprise value against historical data and competitors' data.  Segment OIBDA is the primary measure used by our chief operating decision maker to evaluate the performance of and allocate resources to the Company's business segments.

Segment OIBDA does not include depreciation and amortization and the amortization of cable distribution investments and eliminates the variable effect across all business segments of depreciation and amortization.  Depreciation and amortization expense includes the depreciation of property and equipment, as well as amortization of finite-lived intangible assets.  Amortization of cable distribution investments represents a reduction against revenues over the term of a carriage arrangement and, as such, it is excluded from segment operating income before depreciation and amortization.

In addition, total segment OIBDA does not include: (Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax, Impairment and restructuring charges, Equity earnings of affiliates, Interest expense, net, Interest income, Other, net, Income tax expense and Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests. 

The following table reconciles income from continuing operations before income tax expense to total segment OIBDA:

NOTE 2 – ADJUSTED NET INCOME AND ADJUSTED EPS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS

The calculation of income and earnings per share ("EPS") from continuing operations attributable to 21st Century Fox stockholders excluding net income effects of Impairment and restructuring charges, Equity affiliate adjustments, Other, net, and tax provision adjustments ("adjusted income and diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to 21st Century Fox stockholders") may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Adjusted income and diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to 21st Century Fox stockholders are not measures of performance under generally accepted accounting principles and should not be construed as substitutes for consolidated net income and EPS as determined under GAAP as a measure of performance. However, management uses these measures in comparing the Company's historical performance and believes that they provide meaningful and comparable information to investors to assist in their analysis of our performance relative to prior periods and our competitors.

The Company uses adjusted income and diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to 21st Century Fox stockholders to evaluate the performance of the Company's operations exclusive of certain items that impact the comparability of results from period to period.

The following table reconciles reported income and reported diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to 21st Century Fox stockholders to adjusted income and diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to 21st Century Fox stockholders for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017.

SOURCE Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.21cf.com