Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc

XTSX:TBRD

Earnings Call Transcript 2020-Q1

[Operator]

Good morning and thank you for joining us. We are here to provide a corporate update and report on the First Quarter Results of Thunderbird Entertainment Group's 2020 Fiscal Year, which ended September 30, 2019. Speaking on today's call is Mr. Brian Paes-Braga, Chair of Thunderbird's Board of Directors; and Ms. Jennifer Twiner McCarron, Thunderbird's CEO. Mr. Paes-Braga and Ms. Twiner McCarron will provide a strategic overview of Thunderbird Entertainment Group and also review the company's first quarter financials. Following the corporate update and financial review, the call will be opened up for a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] I would like to remind everyone that certain statements made on today's call will be forward looking and constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information discussed on this conference call include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the company's objectives, goals or future plans and business and operations of the company. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, general business, economic and social uncertainties, litigation, legislative, environmental and other traditional regulatory, political and competitive developments. Those additional risks set out in the company's filing statements and other public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and other matters discussed in the company's Q1 news release. Although the company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this presentation and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. Except where required by law, the company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For your convenience, the press release, the MD&A and audited annual financial statements for the 3 months ended September 30, 2019, of Thunderbird Entertainment Group are filed on SEDAR and are available online under the Investors section of our website. We do not expect to update forward-looking statements continually as conditions change. This conference call is being webcast live and a archive will be available on the company's website at www.thunderbird.tv following today's call. Please note that Thunderbird reports in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. Mr. Paes-Braga and Ms. Twiner McCarron will now provide the corporate update.

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Thanks so much for joining us today. My name is Brian Paes-Braga, and I am the Chair of the Board for Thunderbird Entertainment Group. I'm pleased to participate in today's call with Jen to discuss why it continues to be such a lucrative time for Thunderbird and the content development industry in general. I'm excited to provide updates about Thunderbird's progress over the past quarter, our company's continued focus on our people and building our infrastructure to meet the ever-increasing demands of the media industry and to further highlight the fortuitous position Thunderbird finds itself in with our incredible people, unique bellwether approach and extremely strong balance sheet to create long-term stakeholder value. The long-discussed streaming wars heated up quickly in November, with the launch of Apple TV+ and Disney+, 2 prominent and well established technology and media corporations that entered the modern streaming industry. Currently, Netflix remains the most established platform with 139 million subscribers around the world and a content library of 47,000 TV episodes and 4,000 movies. No other streamer comes close to that amount of content. However, each new entrant has different strategies and pathways to attract and retain subscribers. For example, Apple is giving away a free year of Apple TV+ to those purchasing iPhones, iPads and Macs, giving them access to 160 million potential subscribers. Based on the strength of its back library of 500 movies and 7,500 TV episodes, when it launched, Disney+ attracted 10 million subscribers in Canada, the United States and the Netherlands on its first day. When Peacock launches in 2020, it will leverage the substantial back catalogs of NBC and Universal. The pace of consumption of high-quality content is not slowing down. More devices, more bandwidth, more platforms. If you add in 5G rolling out globally, the next generation of mobile technology is poised to further enhance the consumer streaming experience by offering faster speeds, lower latency, strong reliability, higher capacity and better mobility. 5G will make it easier for consumers to enjoy a host of streaming options, further reinforcing the strong demand for premium contents. Our company is scaling up to provide trusted compelling premium content, the type of content that our global partners are asking for. In Q1, our company delivered its largest ever fall lineup, with 8 productions premiering across multiple platforms around the world. We also had 21 different programs in various stages of production. Our company's fiscal 2019, 2020 production budgets are estimated at $170 million, with 13 productions scheduled for delivery in 2020. Additionally, Thunderbird has invested funds towards developing 25 owned IP series, which can also include long-tail revenue streams, such as merchandise and other licensing opportunities. Through IPO-owned productions, Thunderbird is building long-term shareholder value, and we are using internally generated free cash flow to fund our growing stable of owned IP in our high-growth animation business, Atomic. Currently, Thunderbird productions are a blend of proprietary, owned IP and service work. And of the 21 programs in production in Q1, 9 are IP-owned. Currently, all the productions in development for Great Pacific, the Factual and Scripted divisions are IP-owned. And through the success of shows like Highway Thru Hell, Heavy Rescue: 401 and Kim's Convenience, we continue to witness the power of owned IP and of building iconic brands that will stand the test of time. This success is now expanding to Atomic, a Kid and Family division, with the IP-owned series, The Last Kids on Earth, which began streaming on Netflix in September. Additional episodes are already in production for 2020. At Thunderbird, our focus to create and partner with the best artists to build a world-class stable of IP assets and, ultimately, global brands. We do this by carefully selecting high-quality partners and content, content that has a message. Or as we like to say, content that has the power to help make the world a better place. We focus on premium content and compelling stories. But how do we ensure that these stories translate on the screen? By leveraging our greatest asset, which is our team, our people. We have cultivated audience-driven environments in each of our studios, and we foster workplaces that encourage creativity, imagination and originality. We regularly invest in our people, and we also invest in the type of productions they passionately develop and produce. It's incredible to watch our growing team come to work every day to collaborate, push creative boundaries and develop inspirational content that connects with audiences around the world. And the results of this hard work are being widely recognized. Fast Company Magazine has praised our owned IP production, The Last Kids on Earth, dubbing it the next $1 billion franchise. Women's Executive Network recently named Thunderbird's CEO, Jennifer McCarron, as one of Canada's top 100 most powerful women. In October, Atomic's growth was recognized when it was listed by Business in Vancouver as 1 of the 3 largest digital arts companies in BC. On November 11, 2019, Highway Thru Hell's milestone 100th episode aired on Discovery Canada. Add to this, season 9 of Highway Thru Hell was ordered before Season 8 had begun airing. This is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself. And Kidscreen magazine recently showcased our book development strategy with an article on how Atomic has perfected the book-to-screen journey. The Thunderbird teams, both on camera and behind the scenes, are second to none. They are producing incredible content at a time when the industry has huge demand for it. Shortly, Jen is going to share more specific company updates, and I will then go over the Q1 2020 fiscal numbers. Before passing things over, I want to thank all of those who have recognized the value in Thunderbird and are investing with us. Our company is about quality content and delivering on long-term stakeholder value. It is truly a thrilling time in the content-development industry. Based on my background, I'd like to call this a gold rush moment. Thunderbird is succeeding across the board and continues to lay the groundwork for success in the future. 2020 is shaping up to be another incredible transformative year. Jen, over to you.

[Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO & Director]

Thank you so much, Brian. I am delighted to be sharing some of the exciting company highlights from the first quarter of fiscal 2020. During the quarter, we continued to focus on developing and producing an increasing share of owned IP productions. As Brian mentioned, we have 21 programs in various stages of production and deals with Netflix, NBCUniversal, Nickelodeon, PBS, WGBH, Discovery Canada, APTN, Corus Entertainment and the CBC to list a few. The majority of series in production with our Factual division are IP-owned, and our Kids and Family division is currently producing additional episodes of our IP-owned series, The Last Kids on Earth.Throughout Q1, Thunderbird collectively delivered 37 half-hour episodes and 18 1-hour episodes from the Factual scripted and Kids and Family divisions. We have 13 productions currently scheduled for delivery in 2020, and we are on track to meet these targets. We also have many other productions at various stages of development. Before moving into the division updates, I wanted to echo Brian's sentiments on Thunderbird's strong sense of team and our artist-driven culture. Thunderbird is able to accomplish what it does and is poised for success amidst the streaming wars because of the incredible talent of our team. As a leader of this company, I continue daily to be expired -- inspired by the creativity in all divisions. I'm so proud of the work we're getting done together. And when I look at our production slate and the caliber of our expanding client base, which includes Disney, Netflix, Discovery and CBC, I know the best is yet to come. Now on to the division highlights. I will start with our unbelievable Factual division, great Pacific Media. The Factual division's success continues to be rooted in productive partnerships with broadcast and streaming partners globally, resulting in 5 series being renewed this past year. During the quarter, Thunderbird's Factual division was in production on 5 series and 1 documentary: Highway Thru Hell season 8; Heavy Rescue: 401 season 4; $ave My Reno season 3; Queen of the Oil Patch season 2; High Arctic Haulers season 1; and Teenager and the Lost Mayan City, which is a documentary for CBC. In Q1, we were in production on 17 original hours of Highway Thru Hell, and we began production of the ninth season of the hit series. Season 8, which consists of 17 episodes, began airing in October 2019 and includes the milestone 100th episode. This is a massive company milestone and one within the Factual genre, as Highway Thru Hell is one of a small number of Canadian factual series to ever reach that number of episodes. Highway Thru Hell is a top-rated series on Discovery Canada and airs around the world on cable, VOD and streaming platforms. Season 9 will be the series' largest, 18 episodes. Our Factual division was also in production on the fourth season of the hit reality series, Heavy Rescue: 401 season 4 during the quarter and completed 13 original hours. Both Highway Thru Hell and Heavy Rescue: 401 continue to have strong international sales and are available in more than 180 countries and territories around the world in more than a dozen languages. They are truly global successes, and they demonstrate the financial benefits of IP-owned productions. Being 100% owned by Thunderbird, all production revenues flow back into the company from these productions. Also in Q1, another IP-owned production, High Arctic Haulers, was delivered to the CBC. This series is set to premiere in January 2020. You don't want to miss it. During the quarter, we also began principal photography on season 2 of the critically acclaimed documentary series, Queen of the Oil Patch. The series is produced in collaboration with Kah-Kitowak Films. It is scheduled to premiere on APTN in 2020. Now shifting focus to our Kids and Family division, Atomic Cartoons. Our animation crew continues to deliver premium content in the middle of these streaming wars and is a trusted partner to many of the major players, including Disney, Netflix and NBCUniversal to name just a few. During the quarter, Atomic was in various stages of production on 14 animated television programs. As previously announced, our high-profile new owned IP animated series, The Last Kids on Earth, premiered on Netflix in September 2019. More episodes are now in production and will air in 2020. Also in the quarter, we announced a video game based on this series with Outright Games, which is scheduled for a 2021 release. A worldwide merchandise line is also scheduled to launch in 2020. Service productions and partnership models at Atomic include Hello Ninja for Netflix, Molly of Denali, a co-venture with WGBH for PBS KIDS and CBC, 101 Dalmatian Street and Donald Duck and The Three Caballeros for Disney+ and LEGO Jurassic World for NBCUniversal. Molly of Denali, which also premiered during the quarter in July 2019 on PBS and WGBH in the United States and, in September 2019, on CBC in Canada. In addition to receiving great ratings and reviews, this series is being widely hailed for its sensitive and accurate description of indigenous people, including being recognized as the first-ever nationally distributed kids series in the United States to feature a native Alaskan main character. Hello Ninja, Thunderbird's most recent collaboration with Netflix, began streaming on November 1, 2019. It is the latest production that incorporates Thunderbird's strategy of developing high-quality, proven popular books into animated productions. This book was released privately in Starbucks where we found it. The series is also Thunderbird's first-ever partner-managed production for Netflix. In our Scripted division, Kim's Convenience continues to be a worldwide success. Season 4 of the award-winning comedy was completed in Q1, with the first episode scheduled to premiere on January 7, 2020. Kim's Convenience airs on CBC and CBC Gem in Canada, with previous seasons available worldwide for a mix of Netflix streaming, video-on-demand partnerships and cable TV deals, including in Japan and Korea. Overall, Q1 was a strong quarter on every level, and we are excited to keep you informed as to how the company continues to develop and grow. We are extremely proud of what we've accomplished and are even more excited about what lies ahead. This fall, I've had the opportunity to travel to Toronto, Montreal, London, England and Zurich to share the Thunderbird story and our unique position as a content provider within the streaming wars. With every encounter, every meeting and every additional production update, the story just gets more exciting. And it has been an absolute privilege to share the company's vision of creating content that somehow finds the way to make the world a better place. By focusing on quality, creativity and innovation, we are building a global brand that can stand the test of time. By focusing on artist-friendly working environments, trust-based relationships and sustainable growth, we are building a company that is making a positive difference as our content connects with audiences around the world. Before Brian shares the Q1 financials, I want to acknowledge all of the team members across Thunderbird for their hard work in this quarter. Their enthusiasm and creativity translates into the extraordinary stories we tell. They create premium content, and Thunderbird continues to be successful as a result of their hard work. I also wanted to thank all of you who are on the call today for joining us, for your interest and investment in our company. Q1 was a strong quarter, and we look forward to building on that success for the rest of the year and beyond. This is just the beginning. Now Brian will discuss our financial performance and other corporate matters. Thank you so much.

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

Thank you, Jen. In Q1 fiscal 2020, consolidated revenue for the 3 months ended September 30, 2019, was $17.1 million. Net income was $800,000, and adjusted EBITDA was $3 million. Consolidated revenue for the quarter ending September 30, 2019, was $17.1 million as compared to $14.4 million for the comparative quarter ending September 30, 2018, an increase of $3.3 million or 19%. In Q1 2020, the company recognized revenue on IP projects, The Last Kids on Earth, Highway Thru Hell season 8 and Worst to First season 2, and revenue from service-based series in various stages of production at our Kids and Family division, Atomic Cartoons. Consolidated net income was $800,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, compared to net income of $1.5 million for the comparative quarter ending September 30, 2018, a decrease of $700,000. Although revenues were higher in Q1 2020, this was offset by direct production costs and increased staffing costs related to the growth in the Kids and Family division. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, was $3 million compared to $4.2 million for the comparative period ended September 30, 2018, a decrease of $1.2 million. This decrease was due to the decrease in net income and offset partially by amortization of the right-of-use assets related to the adoption of IFRS 16 leases. During the quarter ended September 30, 2019, the company paid down an additional $700,000 of our 3-year nonrevolving term loan drawn in July of 2018, leaving a balance remaining of $700,000. The term loan was drawn in order to repurchase common shares of certain shareholders of the previous Thunderbird Entertainment before the company -- before the public company transaction on an accretive basis and was part of an overall credit facility negotiated with Royal Bank of Canada that also included an increased production line of credit and an acquisition facility. This concludes the formal remarks portion of the call, and Jen and I will remain on the call for a short Q&A. Before passing things back to the operator, I want to truly thank everyone for taking the time to join us today. In choosing to be a Thunderbird investor, you're an important part of this journey we are taking together. We look forward to building on our Q1 strong results and keeping you updated along the way. I'm happy to answer any questions at this time. And I do want to note the reason why I'm delivering the financial results is, unfortunately, our CFO, Barb, is dealing with a family death, and she's been very focused on her family at this time. And I'm going to do my best and Jen will do her best to answer any financial-related questions. If we can't answer them for any reason, Barb will get to them once she's back, focused at the office. Thank you, everyone.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] And your first question is from Aravinda Galappatthige from Canaccord.

[Aravinda Suranimala Galappatthige, Managing Director]

I wanted to actually start out more generally with respect to The Last Kids on Earth franchise, recognizing, obviously, what Brian mentioned about the potential size of -- we know what it can grow to be. I know it's early days, but is there any sort of feedback from Netflix following, sort of, the initial streaming of the first hour and -- the first episode? Is there any kind of feedback that they provide you in terms of what the viewership is or what the reception is? And in terms of the development of the franchise, I mean, what can we look to in terms of tracking that franchise? I know that at some point in 2020, there would be, sort of, a merch launch. Is there anything that has to happen ahead of that as we, sort of, look to track the progress of the franchise?

[Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO & Director]

I can speak for that, Aravinda. It's Jen. And Netflix involves a -- we are sworn to secrecy in terms of how it's doing. But I can say, we're feeling good, very good. With regard to the progress, so the initial order for Netflix was based on 3 books. There are 10 books to come in this. So on September 17, we dropped book 5, which sat on #2 in the New York Times Best Sellers list, ahead of well-known franchises like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Harry Potter, sitting only behind Dog Man, which anyone out there with kids will know that's a great popular one. And we coordinated the launch to have the Netflix [ work ] on the book and to line up with our drop. So there's many more books in the series to come. They're serialized, meaning everything ends on a cliffhanger. When we drop the toy line with JAKKS Pacific in the spring of 2020, we are coordinating another drop of more episodes with Netflix. The same goes on with coordinated drop in the serial, episodes, some amazing content when we drop the video. So we are working in tandem with Penguin and Max Brallier, who's incredible author and creator of this worldwide best-selling franchise book series, to support it with amazing content and make sure that the toy line and video game line up accordingly with both the books and entertainment across promoting.

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

Thank, Jen. And Aravinda, I'll just comment so -- what Jen commented on, I don't think we can quantify out of respect for Netflix's -- our great relationship with Netflix. But yes, the early signs are extremely positive. And I think the important takeaway for me in this, and I highly recommend everyone on this call to review that Fast Company article, which is From Book to $1 Billion Franchise, is we're in a world right now where based on the unique position that Thunderbird finds itself in, we have the ability to take a great piece of content that was created by Max Brallier, which was Jen's and her team's genius in 2017, this is a 2-year project and finally released September 17, 2019. And after that 2 years gave Jen the opportunity to get this brand out to almost 200 countries in 40 languages, which is the Netflix platform that allows us to get into -- in front of all those eyeballs and at the same time allow Max to use his creative genius in creating more books that just allow us to have more TV series, that just allow us to have more presence on toy shelves. Like, it really -- I can't probably underestimate how powerful this has become. And what's happened is Jen and her team are attracting more creators now because they see Atomic and Thunderbird as a go-to place to allow them just to create, they're artists. They're a unique bunch. They just want to create. And Jen is the whisperer to them, and they trust Jen and her team's ability to advance their IP and take it to market. And at the same time, what Mark Miller has been able to do and his team at Great Pacific and the amazing free cash flow that he's been generating, it's allowed for this investment in the time since 2016, 2017, for Jen and her team to make these -- lower risk but to make these investments, and it's just starting to prove out now. So I can't tell you how excited I am to see how things go next year. And I don't think it's fair for us to put all of our bet, and all of our [ extend ] to The Last Kids. The Last Kids is a great piece of IP and proving out this partnership model, but we have many more in the pipeline. And yes, I guess, we'll all see over the next few years, how much value is really going to be created with this very, very low-risk but unique strategy with a ton of upside.

[Aravinda Suranimala Galappatthige, Managing Director]

Brian, just one other question, and I'll pass the line and a financial question if I may. Obviously, Thunderbird as is the case where other production companies have a fair bit of seasonality. You typically -- historically, your Q1 and Q3, are the bigger quarters. I'm trying to get a sense of how we should think about the cadence for this year. Is it generally similar to prior years? And connected to that, Brian, I think you mentioned that all the -- you delivered Highway Thru Hell season 8 in the quarter you just reported, so the September quarter. Is season 8 completely delivered or is there more to come out of that during the fiscal year? Or are we just waiting for season 9 now?

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

Jen, do you have that one over there? Or do we want to get back to Aravinda when we've chatted with Barb?

[Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO & Director]

I think we should get back just to make sure. There's been some accounting changes with IFRS 16 in the way that corporate overhead is recognized, which is having some implications to our accounting side, which is not just year-end, but just in terms of the cadence. So I'd love to get back to you on that. With regards for Highway, we are now focusing on season 9.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] The next question is from David McFadgen from Cormark Securities.

[David John McFadgen, Director of Institutional Equity Research]

So I think in your prepared remarks, you said that the production budget for 2020 and 2021 is $170 million. Is that correct? I just want to verify that first.

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

It's 2019, 2020, Dave.

[David John McFadgen, Director of Institutional Equity Research]

All right. The $170 million? So that was 2019 and 2020 was $170 million?

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

Yes.

[David John McFadgen, Director of Institutional Equity Research]

Okay. Did you release in your disclosure how much of that $170 million was actually recognized in 2019? I'm just trying to recall off the top of my head, if you did or not.

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

I think it's a Barb question. Jen, do you have that one?

[Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO & Director]

No, I think we should defer to Barb, just to make sure we get it right.

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

Sorry, Dave. We will get that over to you.

[David John McFadgen, Director of Institutional Equity Research]

Okay. And then just beyond fiscal 2020, how is the slate looking? How is it building in terms of visibility and so on? I don't know if you have any color you can give us on that.

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

Go ahead, Jen.

[Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO & Director]

Yes. No, I mean, it's an amazing time to be doing what we're doing. We're saying no to a lot of work only because we want to just continue to focus in on what we do and do that well and pick projects that really increase the long-term value of the company that honors the slate of talents, what they want to be doing, make sure they're excited by it. And work with great partners to build a global-based brand that will last a lifetime. So it's really unbelievable. I wish these calls weren't so buttoned up in terms of what you can say because it's beyond exciting.

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

Yes. And if I can comment -- thank you, Jen, if I can comment that, Dave, as Jen said, it's just -- it's thoughtfully now approaching all the work that's coming in based on the timing of the industry and based on the reliability that both Jen and Mark and their respective teams have created over the last few years and really, with Tim Gamble's founding of the company 15 years ago, it's kind of this perfect storm that we're in, that we just need to really be strategic on the amount of work that's coming in and how do we create the most value for our shareholders with the lowest risk of capital deployment and ensuring that our balance sheet continues to be industry-leading. So we're very thankful for the position that we're in and that the team that we have that's rowing very hard in the same direction here.

[David John McFadgen, Director of Institutional Equity Research]

Okay, okay. And just one last question. If you are going to have any additional revenue from merchandising from The Last Kids on Earth, when do you think it would actually show up in the financials? Any idea on that?

[Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO & Director]

That would be later in the calendar year of 2020.

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

Yes, I'm going to say second half of the year 2020 is where I'd look out for that. We can get more specific after we speak to Barb but should be second half of the year -- calendar year 2020.

[Operator]

There are no further questions at this time. You may proceed.

[Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO & Director]

Thank you.

[Brian Alexander Paes-Braga]

Okay. Thank you. Yes, thank you so much. We appreciate the continued support, and both Jen and I and Tim and Mark are available to chat anytime, and we look forward to having you all in our journey.

[Operator]

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating, and we ask that you please disconnect your lines.