Genius Brands International, Inc. (“Genius Brands”) (NASDAQ: GNUS),
a global brand management company that creates, produces,
broadcasts, and licenses entertainment content for children,
reported financial results and provided an investor business update
for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022. The Company will also
host a conference call at 12 PM Eastern Time today, including the
CEO, the CFO, and Michael Hirsh, President of the recently acquired
WOW! Unlimited Media (WOW!) (details below).
The Company achieved revenue growth of 843% to a record $21.2
million for the three months ended June 30, 2022, compared to the
same period last year. The revenue increase reflects the inclusion
of WOW!, which was acquired by Genius Brands in April 2022, and
Ameba, which was acquired in January of 2022. As a result of the
combination with WOW!, Genius Brands now has an end-to-end
animation ecosystem that is producing leading titles, such as Coco
Melon, the #1 children’s series in the world today, as well as
Barbie’s Dreamhouse, and Madagascar-A Little Wild, with eight
figure production commitments to the Company going through 2024. In
addition, Genius Brands’ in-house, owned and original content is
produced for distribution on YouTube, Netflix, Peacock, HBO Max,
Paramount+, as well as its own rapidly growing Kartoon Channel! (Ad
Supported), and Kartoon Channel Kidaverse! (Subscription based)
platforms.
Licensing and royalties generated by copyrights and trademarks
of the Company’s brands, and those of the brands for which the
Company functions as a licensing agent, increased 102% for the
three months ended June 30, 2022, as compared to the three months
ended June 30, 2021. This was due, in part, to the Company rolling
out its licensing program of the Stan Lee IP and assets.
Genius Brands continues to maintain a solid balance sheet with a
substantial cash position to internally fund growth.
In addition to the acquisitions of WOW! and Ameba, as
well as a strategic investment in YFE, key highlights for second
quarter of 2022, include:
- Signed an agreement to license the name and likeness of Stan
Lee to Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Company for use in future
feature films and television productions, as well as use in Disney
theme parks, experiences and in-park merchandise.
- Partnered with world-renowned chef, restauranteur,
entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Wolfgang Puck, to create an
animated children’s series, Wolfgang Puck’s Secret Chef Academy,
along with healthy food products for children based on the
series.
- Launched the commercial free, streaming subscription service,
Kartoon Channel! Kidaverse @$3.99/month in U.S. and expanding
Kartoon Channel Worldwide to now in over 60 territories.
- Advanced production of Shaq’s Garage with a “sneak peek” now
available for 48 hours only, exclusively on Kartoon Channel!
“Over the last few years, we have transformed Genius Brands into
a leader in the children’s entertainment industry,” said CEO Andy
Heyward. “We have invested in people, animated series, IP rights,
global content distribution, and consumer product licensing
infrastructure, while making thoughtful and measured acquisitions
that fit into our business plan. We are now in year two since the
launch of Kartoon Channel!, and we are witnessing tremendous
success. For the second quarter, we achieved over $21 million in
revenues, an 843% increase versus the same period last year. We
continue to make decisions to grow our asset base and reach
sustainable and growing profitability. Our global channel system
for kids is now experiencing both subscriber growth, as well as
advertiser growth, while creating synergies and economies of scale.
We believe that the building blocks are in place, and we are
executing on our plan.”
Complete financial results are available in the Company’s Form
10-Q, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, and is available on the Company’s website:
https://ir.gnusbrands.com/sec-filings
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call today, Wednesday August
17, 2022, at 12:00 PM Eastern Time to discuss financial results for
the quarter ended June 30, 2022 and provide a business update.
The conference call will be available via telephone by dialing
toll-free +1 888-506-0062 for U.S. callers or +1 973-528-0011 for
international callers and entering access code 497498. A webcast of
the call may be accessed at
https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2251/46400 or on the
investor relations section of the company’s website,
https://ir.gnusbrands.com/ir-calendar.
Investors and other interested parties are invited to submit
questions to management prior to the call's start via email to
ir@gnusbrands.com.
A webcast replay will be available on the investor relations
section of company’s the website at
https://ir.gnusbrands.com/ir-calendar through August 17, 2023. A
telephone replay of the call will be available approximately one
hour following the call, through August 31, 2022, and can be
accessed by dialing 877-481-4010 for U.S. callers or +1
919-882-2331 for international callers and entering access code
46400.
About Genius Brands InternationalGenius Brands
International, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNUS) is a leading global kids media
company developing, producing, marketing, and licensing branded
children’s entertainment properties and consumer products for media
and retail distribution. The Company’s IP portfolio of
family-friendly content features the Stan
Lee brand, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger, on Kartoon Channel!; Shaq’s Garage,
starring Shaquille O’Neal, coming to Kartoon Channel!; Rainbow
Rangers on Kartoon Channel! and Netflix; Llama Llama,
starring Jennifer Garner, on Netflix and more. Recently, Genius
Brands entered into an agreement to acquire Canada’s WOW! Unlimited
Media (TSX-V: WOW), which includes 2,500 channels under the Channel
Federator Network, and has also made a strategic investment in
Germany’s Your Family Entertainment AG (FRA:RTV), one of Europe’s
largest distributors and broadcasters of high-quality programs for
children and families.
Genius Brands’ Kartoon Channel! is a globally
distributed entertainment platform with 100% penetration in the
U.S. television market and international expansion with launches in
key markets around the world. The channel is available in the U.S.
via a broad range of distribution platforms, including Comcast,
Cox, DISH, Amazon Prime, Amazon Fire, Apple
TV, Apple iOS, Android TV, Android Mobil, Google
Play, Roku, YouTube, KartoonChannel.com, Samsung Smart and LG
TVs, the JetBlue Inflight platform and more. Genius Brands is now
rolling out the subscription-based Kartoon Channel! Kidaverse,
featuring metaversal content and exclusive titles.
For additional information, please
visit www.gnusbrands.com.
Forward Looking Statements: Certain statements
in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as
"may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect,"
"anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast,"
"project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements
regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are
forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these
forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should
not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are
based on information available to us on the date of this release.
These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates
and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties,
including without limitation, our ability to generate revenue or
achieve profitability; our ability to obtain additional financing
on acceptable terms, if at all; the potential issuance of a
significant number of shares, which will dilute our equity holders;
fluctuations in the results of our operations from period to
period; general economic and financial conditions; our ability to
anticipate changes in popular culture, media and movies, fashion
and technology; competitive pressure from other distributors of
content and within the retail market; our reliance on and
relationships with third-party production and animation studios;
our ability to market and advertise our products; our reliance on
third-parties to promote our products; our ability to keep pace
with technological advances; our ability to protect our
intellectual property and those other risk factors set forth in the
“Risk Factors” section of the Company’s most recent Annual Report
on Form 10-K and in the Company's subsequent filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Thus, actual
results could be materially different. The Company expressly
disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by law.
MEDIA CONTACT:
pr@gnusbrands.com
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT
:ir@gnusbrands.com
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