Warner Music Lost $43M Last Quarter And That’s An Improvement
Warner Music Group may be a private company, but because it still has bond holders, it filed quarterly reports. This installment showed a continuing, albeit slowing, decline made worse by fluctuations in exchange rates.
The highlights:
- Total revenue declined 10% or 1% on a constant-currency basis
- Recorded Music revenue declined 10% or 1% on a constant-currency basis
- Digital revenue declined 3% or increased 4% on a constant-currency basis
- OIBDA was $100 million versus $66 million in the prior-year quarter
- Net loss was $43 million versus $184 million in the prior-year quarter
"I’m pleased with our relative performance this quarter, given that Q3 was our strongest quarter in fiscal 2014," said Stephen Cooper, Warner Music Group’s CEO. “Our successes this quarter are due to ongoing growth in streaming revenue, a strong flow of outstanding music from our artists and songwriters, and first-class execution by our operators around the world.”
“Currency factored prominently in our results. It is encouraging that, given the strength of the prior-year quarter, total revenue was essentially flat year over year on a constant-currency basis,” added Eric Levin, Warner Music Group’s Executive Vice President and CFO. “I’m proud of our OIBDA and margin performance. We will continue to take a balanced, global approach to delivering revenue, free cash flow and OIBDA growth.”
