Starz Reports Second Quarter 2013 Financial Results

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Aug. 1, 2013/PRNewswire/ -- Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) today reported second quarter 2013 results.  Highlights include ⁽¹⁾:

• Achieved revenue increases of 29%, Adjusted OIBDA⁽²⁾ of 19% and operating income of 16%
• Increased STARZ subscriptions by 5% and ENCORE subscriptions by 3% to 21.8 million and 35.1 million, respectively since June 30, 2012
  • Since March 31, 2013, increased STARZ subscriptions by 1% while ENCORE subscriptions were essentially flat
  • 56.9 million combined subscriptions; leads U.S. premium television category
• Entered into new long-term affiliation agreement with Time Warner Cable
• Reached 52 million HHs with STARZ PLAY and ENCORE PLAY nationwide
  • Recent launches by Time Warner Cable, Bright House, and Cablevision
• Greenlit new STARZ Original series "Outlander" with Sony Pictures Television for air in 2014
• Greenlit new STARZ Original series "Power" from executive producer Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson for air in 2014
• Repurchased 4.1 million shares from May 1 to July 31, 2013; since trading began on January 14, 2013, Starz has repurchased 4.2% of its outstanding shares
• Entered into major movie library agreements withTwentieth Century Fox and MGM

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Chris Albrecht, Starz Chief Executive Officer said, "Starz delivered solid operational and financial performance in the second quarter.  We achieved a new all-time subscriber high at STARZ with nearly 22 million subscribers.  We are also very pleased with the new, multi-year multi-platform distribution agreement with Time Warner Cable.  Opportunities exist to grow our premium business with Time Warner Cable, and the subsequent launch of STARZ PLAY and ENCORE PLAY will assist in those efforts.  Our plan for original programming is increasing in both quality and scale thanks to the recent greenlight of both 'Outlander' and 'Power,' with both dramatic series expected to have their STARZ premieres in 2014.  With 'The White Queen' debuting this month and drawing strong buzz domestically and abroad, we are well positioned to continue momentum with our original programming heading into 2014 where five series are now scheduled to air on our flagship network, led off by 'Black Sails' which we have already renewed for a second season." 

Revenue increased 29% to $517.4 million and Adjusted OIBDAincreased 19% to $129.5 million for the second quarter.  Operating income increased 16% to $116.1 million.

At Starz Networks, certain contractual terms under affiliation agreements with two distributors resulted in a one-time recognition of $18.6 million of previously deferred revenue.  Revenue at Starz Distribution increased as a result of an increase in the number and performance of titles distributed for The Weinstein Company ("TWC").  A decrease in inter-segment eliminations also contributed to the increase in revenue.  Lower revenue at Starz Animation partially offset these increases due to fewer projects in production at the company's Film Roman studio.

The increase in Adjusted OIBDA for the quarter was primarily due to the recognition of deferred revenue by Starz Networks and the increase in the number and performance of TWC titles distributed by Starz Distribution as mentioned above.  Such increases were partially offset by an increase in advertising and marketing costs due to the premiere of two original series during the 2013 quarter as compared to one series in the 2012 quarter, increased cooperative marketing efforts with our distributors and marketing costs associated with the TWC titles.  Fewer projects in production at the company's Film Roman studio and lower inter-segment eliminations also offset the Starz Networks and Starz Distribution increases.

In addition to the changes in Adjusted OIBDA described above, operating income was impacted by an increase in stock compensation expense during the quarter.

Cash paid for investment in films and television programs decreased 26% to $49.3 million for the quarter.  The decrease was due to timing of payments for certain TWC titles and timing of cash spend related to our original programming.

Share Repurchases
From May 1, 2013 through July 31, 2013, 4.1 million shares of Series A common stock (NASDAQ: STRZA) were purchased at an average cost per share of $22.75 for total cash consideration of $92.7 million.  Since trading began on January 14, 2013, Starz has repurchased 4.2% of our outstanding shares.

FOOTNOTES

NOTES

• Unless otherwise noted, the foregoing discussion compares financial information for the three months ended June 30, 2013 to the same period in 2012.
• In January 2013, Starz (formerly known as Liberty Media Corporation ("Old LMC")) completed the spin off (the "LMC Spin-Off") of its wholly-owned subsidiary Liberty Media Corporation (formerly known as Liberty Spinco, Inc. ("Liberty Media")) in a tax-free manner through the distribution, by means of a dividend, of shares of Liberty Media's common stock to holders of Old LMC common stock.In this distribution, each holder of a share of Old LMC common stock received one share of the corresponding series of Liberty Media common stock.Following the LMC Spin-Off, Starz retained the businesses of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Starz, LLC, and all other businesses, assets and liabilities of Old LMC are included in Liberty Media.Unless the context otherwise requires, Old LMC is used when events or circumstances being described occurred prior to the LMC Spin-Off and Starz is used when events or circumstances being described occurred following the LMC Spin-Off.
• In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), Liberty Media was determined to be the accounting successor to Old LMC for financial reporting purposes following the LMC Spin-Off due to the relative significance of Liberty Media to Starz (which is the legal spinnor) and the continued involvement of Old LMC's senior management with Liberty Media following the LMC Spin-Off.Accordingly, the historical financial statements of Old LMC prior to the LMC Spin-Off will continue to be the historical financial statements of Liberty Media and Starz's historical financial information is deemed to be the financial information of Starz, LLC.The financial statements of Starz reflect Starz, LLC on a historical cost basis.Starz, LLC is the only directly owned subsidiary of Starz which in turn owns either directly or indirectly various operating subsidiaries.Starz is a holding company with no assets or liabilities of its own or operations other than those of Starz, LLC.Accordingly, the financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income and cash flows of Starz and Starz, LLC are identical.
• In connection with the LMC Spin-Off, Starz, LLC distributed $1.8 billion in cash to Old LMC which was funded by a combination of cash on hand and $550.0 million of borrowings under Starz, LLC's senior secured revolving credit facility.The $1.8 billion was paid as follows: $100.0 million on July 9, 2012, $250.0 million on August 17, 2012, $50.0 million on September 4, 2012, $200.0 million on November 16, 2012 and $1.2 billion on January 10, 2013.Such distributed cash was contributed to Liberty Media prior to the LMC Spin-Off. Additionally, in connection with the LMC Spin-Off, Starz, LLC distributed its Englewood, Colorado corporate office building and related building improvements to Old LMC (and Old LMC transferred such building and related improvements to Liberty Property Holdings, Inc. ("LPH"), a subsidiary of Liberty Media) and then leased back the use of such facilities from LPH. Following the LMC Spin-Off, Liberty Media and Starz operate independently, and neither have any stock ownership, beneficial or otherwise, in the other.
  

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
As a supplement to Starz's condensed consolidated statements of operations, to be included in its Form 10-Q, the following is a presentation of quarterly financial information and operating metrics for the periods indicated.

Please see definition of Adjusted OIBDA below and a discussion of why management believes the presentation of Adjusted OIBDA provides useful information for investors.  Schedule 1 to this press release provides a reconciliation of Adjusted OIBDA to operating income for the same periods, as determined under GAAP.

QUARTERLY SUMMARY

CASH AND DEBT
The following presentation is provided to separately identify cash and debt information.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

This press release includes a presentation of Adjusted OIBDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, together with a reconciliation to operating income, as determined under GAAP.  We define Adjusted OIBDA as: revenue less programming costs, production and acquisition costs, home video cost of sales, operating expenses, and selling, general and administrative expenses. Our chief operating decision maker uses this measure of performance in conjunction with other measures to evaluate our operating segments' performance and make decisions about allocating resources among our operating segments. We believe that Adjusted OIBDA is an important indicator of the operational strength and performance of our operating segments, including each operating segment's ability to assist in servicing our debt and to fund investments in films and television programs. In addition, this measure allows management to view operating results and perform analytical comparisons and benchmarking between operating segments and identify strategies to improve performance. This measure of performance excludes stock compensation and depreciation and amortization that are included in the measurement of operating income pursuant to GAAP. Accordingly, Adjusted OIBDA should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, operating income, income before income taxes, net income, net cash provided by operating activities and other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.  Please see Schedule 1 below for applicable reconciliation.

SCHEDULE 1

The following table provides a reconciliation of Adjusted OIBDA for Starz to its operating income calculated in accordance with GAAP for the three months ended June 30, 2012, September 30, 2012, December 31, 2012, March 31, 2013 and June 30, 2013, respectively.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

• Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) CEO, Chris Albrecht will discuss Starz's financial performance, and may discuss future opportunities in a conference call which will begin at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on August 1, 2013.  The call can be accessed by dialing (877) 591-4953 or (719) 325-4867 at least 10 minutes prior to the start time.  Replays of the conference call can be accessed through 6:00 p.m. (ET) on August 8, 2013, by dialing (888) 203-1112 or (719) 457-0820 plus the passcode 9956112#.  The call will also be broadcast live via the Internet and archived on our website.  To access the webcast go to http://ir.starz.com/events.cfm.  Links to this press release will also be available on the Starz website.
• This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about business strategies, market potential, future financial prospects, new service and product launches including original content programming, new distribution platforms for our programming, the continuation of our stock repurchase plans and other matters that are not historical facts.These forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including, without limitation, market acceptance of new products or services, the timely launch of our original programming, the cooperation of our distributors in marketing our services, competitive issues, regulatory matters affecting our businesses, continued access to capital on terms acceptable to Starz and changes in law and market conditions conducive to stock repurchases. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Starz expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Starz's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Please refer to the publicly filed documents of Starz, including the most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q, for additional information about Starz and about the risks and uncertainties related to Starz's business which may affect the statements made in this press release.

About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.

Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ^® and ENCORE^® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies.  As of June 30, 2013, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 56.9 million subscribers, including 21.8 million at STARZ, and 35.1 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S.  STARZ^® and ENCORE^®, along with Starz Networks' third network MOVIEPLEX^®, air over 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television.  Starz Distribution's home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties.  Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributorsand audiences worldwide.

SOURCE Starz