PRESS RELEASE

 

New Wild Bunch AG announces H1 2015 results and reaffirms growth strategy

 

• Company on the way to fulfill its core objectives -operational integration, financial restructuring and reversal in profit trend- in a financially complex year
• Financial results in line with previously disclosed statements
• Company currently reviewing potential growth opportunities

 

Berlin/Paris, 31 August 2015 – After its successful combination with Wild Bunch SA in February 2015, Senator AG has undergone a significant change in substance. Now operating under the name Wild Bunch AG, it has transformed into a major pan-European filmed entertainment company, with a unique international footprint and a wide portfolio of activities, which ranges from international sales to direct electronic distribution. It is present as a direct distribution company in many of the most important European film markets (Germany, France, Italy, Spain), and controls a library of over 2,200 films.

 

The reported financial results of the first half year 2015 are a clear evidence of that transformation. Compared with the June 2014 Senator figures, revenues standing at €68.0 million have multiplied by 7.2x and gross profit has surged from €-0.7 million to €11.1 million; EBITDA stands at €26.5 million vs €-0.6 million for Senator AG in June 2014 and the movie rights owned by the company have grown from €14.4 million on Senator AG balance sheet in June 2014 to €107.1 million on the current June 2015 balance sheet.

 

Financial elements:

in €m	Wild Bunch AG	Senator AG
	30/06/2015	30/06/2014
Revenues	68.0	9.5
Gross Profit	11.1	-0.7
EBITDA	26.5	-0.6
Operating profit (EBIT)	0.4	-3.3
Adjusted EBIT	1.0	-1.7

 

Adjusted EBIT is the operating profit before one-off, non-recurring items. The one-off adjustments include items such as significant restructuring costs, the costs incurred in entering into business combinations, and the impact of the sale, disposal or impairment of an investment in a business or an asset.

 

In terms of movies, the first half of 2015 saw the commercial and critical successes of “La tête haute” in France and “Victoria” in Germany, while “La famille Bélier”, jointly acquired by our Italian and Spanish subsidiaries, enjoyed significant success in both territories. On the international sales front, the first six months were marked by the 3 awards granted to Wild Bunch movies at the Cannes Film Festival, including the Palme d’or for the French movie, “Dheepan”, and by the announcement of the new sales label Insiders, focusing on US independent movies.

 

The 2015 fiscal year is marked by significant challenges induced by the combination. The group must, first of all, make significant headway in integrating the two preexisting companies, so that it is run as a single entity and takes advantage of the identified synergies. It also needs to restructure its financial resources, and clearly reverse the Senator trend in operational profitability.

Operational performance for 2015 is to be measured against these three main objectives.

 

The first half-year results definitely show that the company is on the right track: the two preexisting German operations have been gathered into one seamless organisation; the adjusted EBIT shows a definite improvement at €1.0 million vs €-1.7 million for Senator AG as of June 2014; and the company has initiated talks with its financial partners, aimed at restructuring its balance sheet and strengthening its capital base.

 

Meeting those objectives is indispensable, but does not reflect the full scope of Wild Bunch’s ambition.

 

With a new seasoned Management Board, a widely renewed Supervisory Board and a new name, Wild Bunch AG gives formal evidence of its undertaking to start anew, and to play a major role in the evolution of the filmed entertainment sector.

 

By expanding its geographical footprint, enlarging its portfolio of content, in both cinema and television, and remaining at the forefront of digital change, Wild Bunch intends, through internal and external growth, to more than double its size over the coming five years.

 

With that objective in mind, and with the support and backing of its financial shareholders, Wild Bunch has already engaged in negotiations to acquire/create full direct distribution and coproduction arms in both UK and Australia. These conversations are significantly advanced and should conclude before the year-end.

In parallel, Wild Bunch is in early-stage negotiations with a major Italian filmed entertainment company, contemplating diverse and promising business combinations which would significantly strengthen its presence in Italy.

These deals would globally be immediately and significantly accretive, and would hence contribute to the financial performance of the company in the future years.

 

They would, above all, be significant first steps in Wild Bunch’s strategy to roll up into an undisputed leader in the filmed entertainment industry, growing fast and profitably.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact:

Wild Bunch (Paris)
Louise de Monjour

Phone +33 (143) 132123

Email: ldemonjour@wildbunch.eu

 

cometis AG

Ulrich Wiehle / Thorben Burbach

Phone +49 (611) 205855-23

Email: burbach@cometis.de