Genius Brands International (NASDAQ:GNUS), Inc. (“Genius Brands”) (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.