Net Registered Users Surpasses 7.9 Million;
Average Monthly Total Reach Hits 26.0 Million
Conference Call To Be Held Today at 9:00 AM
ET
Viggle Inc. (NASDAQ:VGGL), the entertainment marketing and
rewards platform, posted strong double-digit growth in its key
operating and financial metrics for its second quarter fiscal year
2015 ended December 31, 2014. Year-over-year revenue and sequential
quarterly growth were significant, as were engagement and
registered users. Revenue grew 43 percent to $7.185 million in F2Q
2015, compared with F2Q 2014, while sequential quarterly revenue
grew 11 percent from $6.476 million in F1Q 2015.
The average monthly total reach for the quarter ended December
31, 2014 was 26.04 million, compared with 17.34 million for the
year-ago quarter, and 23.81 million for the quarter ended September
30, 2014.
Almost one million new users registered on the Viggle platform
during the quarter, bringing net registered users to more than 7.9
million, compared with 3.7 million net registered users as of the
end of the year-ago quarter, an increase of 116 percent.
Viggle’s quarter was highlighted by new key partnerships
including HGTV, HitFix, Gracenote, and a new mobile technology in
collaboration with Opera Mediaworks that allows TV network
advertisers the ability to offer a brand-new call to action,
Add-to-DVR, as part of their mobile campaigns. Rewards and content
offerings were also expanded, giving Viggle users the ability to
rent or own TV shows and movies from M-GO, the premium digital
video on demand (VOD) service and joint venture between Technicolor
and DreamWorks Animation.
In October 2014, Viggle secured a $30 million investment through
a securities purchase agreement with Sillerman Investment Company
III, an entity owned by the Company’s Chairman and CEO, Robert F.X.
Sillerman. Proceeds from the funding were used to repay $15 million
of existing indebtedness and for working capital purposes including
marketing, and to fuel innovation for its marketing and rewards
platform.
On January 23, 2015, Robert F.X. Sillerman, Chairman and CEO of
both SFX and Viggle, announced that SFX entered into a sales agency
agreement with Viggle that is expected to significantly bolster
Viggle’s brand partnership, media and sponsorship capabilities.
According to the three-year agreement between SFX and Viggle, the
combined sales organization at SFX that will now represent Viggle
to brand advertisers will sell all inventory for both companies.
Combining efforts and inventory with SFX will give Viggle access to
a significantly broader client base and sales opportunities.
Greg Consiglio, President and COO of Viggle, said, “The results
indicate that the Viggle platform is truly grabbing hold. Increases
in all metrics point to increased customer acceptance and adoption
brought on by a wide variety of factors. Execution of what we
described in our IPO is a testimonial to both the vision of the
company and the fabulous men and women who are making it a
reality.”
As of the end of F2Q 2015, Viggle users have checked into
451,944,633 TV programs and matched more than 105 million songs
using the Viggle Music service. As of December 31, 2014, users have
redeemed more than 49 billion points for approximately 4.1 million
rewards, an average of 12,035 points per reward redemption. The
total retail value of rewards redeemed through December 31, 2014 is
approximately $22 million. Overall, users’ average time in the
Viggle app has been more than 63 minutes per session.
For F2Q 2015, Viggle reported an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $7.0
million as compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $5.2 million in
F2Q 2014 and $7.8 million in F1Q 2015. Sequentially, non-marketing
operating costs fell by $1.2 million and marketing spend increased
by $1.1 million as compared with F1Q 2015 yielding lower Adjusted
EBITDA losses. Adjusted EBITDA loss grew as compared to a year ago
due to increased marketing spend of $3.3 million, partially offset
by higher revenues.
For more details on these results and a description of all
definitions, please see Viggle’s quarterly form 10-Q filed this
same date.
Conference Call and Webcast
Date: Wednesday, February 4, 2015Time: 9:00 A.M. Eastern Time
(ET)Dial-in Number for U.S. and Canadian Callers:
1-877-407-3102Dial-in Number for International Callers (Outside of
the U.S. and Canada): 1-201-493-6790
Participating on the call will be Viggle President and Chief
Operating Officer Greg Consiglio and Chief Financial Officer John
Small, who will discuss operational and financial highlights for
the second quarter and fiscal 2015 and other metrics including
recent increases in users.
To join the live conference call, please dial into the
above-referenced telephone numbers five to 10 minutes prior to the
scheduled conference call time. A live webcast and archive of the
call will also be available on Viggle’s website at:
http://viggleinc.equisolvewebcast.com/q2-2015.
A replay will be available for 14 days starting on February 4,
2015, beginning one hour after the end of the conference call, and
will run through midnight on February 18, 2015. To access the
replay, please dial 1-877-660-6853 in the U.S. and 1-201-612-7415
for international callers. The conference ID# is 13594822.
About Viggle
Viggle is an entertainment marketing and rewards platform whose
app rewards its members for watching TV shows and discovering new
music. The Viggle Platform had an average monthly total reach of 26
million for the three months ended December 2014, including over
7.9 million Viggle registered users. Since its launch, Viggle
members have redeemed over $22 million in rewards for watching
their favorite TV programs and listening to music. Members can use
Viggle’s store, accessible through the Viggle app or on Viggle.com,
to redeem their Viggle Points for TV show, movie, and music
downloads. In addition, Viggle operates Wetpaint, which offers
entertainment and celebrity news online; NextGuide, maker of
technology that helps consumers search for, find, and set reminders
for TV shows and movies; and Choose Digital, a digital marketplace
platform that allows companies to incorporate digital content into
existing rewards and loyalty programs in support of marketing and
sales initiatives. For more information, visit www.viggle.com or
follow us on Twitter @Viggle.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve
inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected or anticipated. All
information provided in this press release is as of the date of
this release. Except as required by law, Viggle Inc. undertakes no
obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Non-GAAP Adjusted Rewards Costs and Adjusted EBITDA
The Company provides a non-GAAP measure for adjusted rewards
costs as an alternative view of the Company’s cost of providing
rewards to its users. The Company reports rewards costs in its
Consolidated Statement of Operations in both cost of watchpoints
and engagement points and in selling, general and administrative
expenses. Management believes that a useful financial measure for
investors is to provide to them the amount of cash the Company has
actually paid to provide rewards to its users. Therefore, the
Company adjusts cost of watchpoints and engagement points as
reported, which represents the cost of points earned by users
during the period, to the cost of actual rewards redeemed by users
during the period. Selling, general and administrative expenses as
reported are likewise adjusted as certain point costs are
classified as marketing. The Company also presents Adjusted EBITDA.
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that represents operating
loss (as reported) plus depreciation and amortization, stock based
compensation and adjustment to rewards costs. Management believes
these non-GAAP measures enhance investors’ understanding of the
Company’s financial performance. The information on adjusted
rewards costs and Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition
to, but not in lieu of operating income prepared in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles in the United States
(GAAP). Since adjusted reward costs and Adjusted EBITDA are not
measures determined in accordance with GAAP, they have no
standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and therefore, may not be
comparable to the calculation of similar measures of other
companies. A reconciliation between GAAP financial measures and
non-GAAP financial measures is as follows.
Reconciliation of rewards cost to
adjusted rewards cost and selling,general and administrative
expenses to adjusted selling, general andadministrative
expenses (amounts in thousands)
QuarterEndedDecember31, 2014
QuarterEndedDecember31, 2013
6 MonthsEndedDecember31, 2014
6 MonthsEndedDecember31, 2013
Cost of watchpoints and engagement points as reported $ (3,027 ) $
(82 ) $ (4,190 ) $ (2,657 ) Adjustment to cost of watchpoints and
engagement points 1,575 (1,102 )
1,842 (108 )
Adjusted cost of watchpoints and engagement points (1,452 )
(1,184 ) (2,348 )
(2,765 ) Selling, general and administrative
expenses as reported (25,999 ) (17,569 ) (48,770 ) (42,906 )
Adjustment to selling, general and administrative expenses
99 (120 ) 141
(212 ) Adjusted selling, general and
administrative expenses $ (25,900 ) $ (17,689 )
$ (48,629 ) $ (43,118 )
Reconciliation of operating loss to
Adjusted EBITDA(amounts in thousands)
QuarterEndedDecember31, 2014
QuarterEndedDecember31, 2013
6 MonthsEndedDecember31, 2014
6 MonthsEndedDecember31, 2013
Revenue $ 7,185 $ 5,032 $ 13,660 $ 9,371 Operating loss as
reported
$
(21,841
) $ (12,619 ) $ (39,300 ) $ (36,192 ) Add: Stock compensation costs
10,858 7,638 18,421 23,434 Adjustment to cost of watchpoints and
engagement points 1,575 (1,102 ) 1,842 (108 ) Adjustment to
Selling, general and administrative expenses 976 (120 ) 1,018 (212
) Depreciation and amortization costs 1,484
994 3,283
2,064 Adjusted EBITDA *
$
(6,948
) $ (5,209 ) $ (14,736 )
$ (11,014 )
* Adjusted EBITA is a non-GAAP measure,
but shown above it representsoperating loss plus depreciation and
amortization, stock basedcompensation, interest (expense) income,
net, certain one-time selling,general and administrative costs, and
adjustment to rewards costs
Investor RelationsViggle Inc.John C. Small,
646-738-3220CFOjohn@viggle.comorIRTH CommunicationsRobert Haag,
1-866-976-4784Managing PartnerVGGL@irthcommunications.comorMedia
Relations:Dian Griesel InternationalLaura Radocaj,
212-825-3210lradocaj@dgicomm.com