Discovery Communications Reports Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2011 Results

SILVER SPRING, Md., Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Full Year 2011 Financial Highlights:

• Revenues increased 12% to $4.235 billion
• Adjusted OIBDA increased 13% to $1.914 billion
• Net income from continuing operations increased 75% to $1.134 billion
• Free cash flow increased 68% to $1.042 billion
• Repurchased 27.2 million shares for an aggregate purchase price of $997 million

Discovery Communications, Inc. ("Discovery" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) today reported financial results for the full year and fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011.

David Zaslav, Discovery's President and Chief Executive Officer said, "Discovery's strong 2011 results and operating momentum exemplify the power and universal appeal of our non-fiction programming, as well as the opportunities inherent in the global distribution platform Discovery has built over the last 27 years.  Through our continued focus on creating high-quality programming and leveraging that content around the globe, as well as across a growing number of digital and consumer platforms, we were able to take additional share of a strong global advertising market, build new brands and create additional growth drivers across our portfolio.  Heading into 2012 we remain focused on taking market share globally while delivering value to our shareholders through sustained financial results and capital returns."

Fourth Quarter Results

Fourth quarter revenues of $1,122 million increased $107 million, or 11%, over the fourth quarter a year ago, led by 11% growth at U.S. Networks and 12% growth at International Networks.  Adjusted Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (1) ("OIBDA") grew 8% to $498 million, including $20 million of additional content costs in the quarter due to changes in amortization rates at several networks and higher impairment charges, as well as $12 million in adverse foreign currency impact.    

Fourth quarter net income from continuing operations available to Discovery Communications, Inc. stockholders of $336 million ($0.86 per diluted share) increased $142 million compared to $194 million ($0.45 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter a year ago.  The current quarter results reflect the strong operating performance as well as $109 million in lower taxes primarily due to the recognition of foreign tax credits as a result of a reorganization of certain international operations, partially offset by a $20 million impairment charge related to our commerce operations.

Free cash flow was $324 million for the fourth quarter, an increase of $121 million from the fourth quarter of 2010, due to increased operating performance as well as lower net tax and long-term incentive compensation payments.  Free cash flow is defined as cash provided by operating activities less acquisitions of property and equipment.  

Full Year Results

Full year 2011 revenues of $4,235 million increased $462 million, or 12%, over 2010 revenues, primarily driven by 11% growth at U.S. Networks and 16% growth at International Networks.  Adjusted OIBDA grew 13% to $1,914 million, driven by a 10% increase at U.S. Networks and an 18% increase at International Networks.  The domestic results included significant additional licensing revenues under an extended and expanded licensing agreement partially offset by increased content costs from higher impairment charges and changes in amortization rates at several networks.

Full year 2011 net income from continuing operations available to Discovery Communications, Inc. stockholders of $1,133 million ($2.80 per diluted share) increased $503 million compared to $630 million ($1.47 per diluted share) a year ago.  The current year results primarily reflect the strong operating performance, a gain of $102 million, net of tax, as a result of contributing the domestic Discovery Health network to the OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network ("OWN") joint venture, $99 million of lower expense from the change in the fair value of mark-to-market share-based compensation and $137 million in lower taxes, primarily due to the recognition of foreign tax credits.  The increase also reflects a $136 million loss on the early extinguishment of debt and termination of interest rate swaps included in the prior year.

Free cash flow was $1,042 million for the full year, an increase of $423 million from full year 2010, due to increased operating performance as well as lower net tax, interest and long-term incentive compensation payments, partially offset by higher working capital and content investments.  The prior year included payments of $138 million for the early extinguishment of debt and termination of interest rate swaps.  

Fourth Quarter Results

U.S. Networks' revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011 increased 11% to $677 million primarily driven by advertising and distribution revenue growth.  Advertising revenue increased 13% due to higher pricing and increased sellouts, reduced by the absence of $11 million due to the removal of Discovery Health following its contribution into the OWN joint venture on January 1, 2011 partially offset by non-recurring items.  Distribution revenue grew 7% from higher rates and subscriber growth primarily from networks carried on the digital tier, as well as from additional licensing revenues, partially offset by $4 million due to the absence of Discovery Health. Excluding Discovery Health from the 2010 results and the non-recurring advertising revenue items, advertising revenues grew 17% and distribution revenues grew 8% compared with the fourth quarter a year ago. 

Adjusted OIBDA increased 12% to $388 million primarily reflecting the 11% revenue growth partially offset by 10% higher operating expenses, which included an additional $16 million in content costs due to a change in amortization rates at certain networks and higher content impairment charges versus the fourth quarter a year ago.  Excluding the non-recurring revenue items, additional content costs and Discovery Health from the 2010 results, Adjusted OIBDA increased 17% as the revenue growth was partially offset by higher operating expenses primarily due to higher content amortization.

Full Year Results

U.S. Networks' revenues for the full year 2011 increased 11% to $2,619 million primarily driven by distribution and advertising revenue growth.  Distribution revenue grew 12% largely from $81 million of additional licensing revenue from the delivery of selected library titles under an extended and expanded licensing agreement as well as from higher rates and subscriber growth primarily from networks carried on the digital tier, partially offset by $15 million due to the absence of Discovery Health. Advertising revenue increased 9% primarily due to increased pricing and higher sellouts, reduced by the absence of $49 million due to the removal of Discovery Health following its contribution into the OWN joint venture on January 1, 2011 partially offset by non-recurring items.  Excluding the additional revenue in the current year from the expanded licensing agreement, the impact of the non-recurring advertising revenue items and Discovery Health from the 2010 results, total revenues grew 11%, and advertising revenues and distribution revenues grew 14% and 6% respectively compared with the full year 2010 results.

Adjusted OIBDA increased 10% to $1,495 million primarily reflecting the 11% revenue growth partially offset by 13% higher operating expenses, which included $24 million of additional content costs versus a year ago due to higher content impairment charges and changes in amortization rates at several networks as well as $13 million in expenses associated with the expanded licensing agreement.  Excluding the non-recurring revenue items,  additional content costs and impact from the expanded licensing agreement in the current year, as well as Discovery Health from the 2010 results, Adjusted OIBDA increased 8% as the revenue growth was partially offset by increased operating expenses primarily due to higher content amortization and selling, general and administrative costs.

Fourth Quarter Results

International Networks' revenues for the fourth quarter increased 12% to $401 million primarily led by advertising revenue growth of 18% and distribution revenue growth of 10%.  Excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, revenues increased 13% led by 19% advertising revenue growth, primarily from higher pricing across all regions as well as from increased viewership at new and rebranded networks. Distribution revenue in local currency terms was up 11% during the fourth quarter, mainly from increased subscribers across all regions.  

Adjusted OIBDA increased 7% to $172 million reflecting the 12% revenue growth, partially offset by a 16% increase in operating expenses which included content impairment charges in Latin America.  Excluding the impact of foreign currency and increased impairment charges, Adjusted OIBDA grew 17% as the 13% revenue growth was partially offset by higher operating expenses primarily due to increased content amortization and personnel costs.

Full Year Results

International Networks' revenues for the full year 2011 increased 16% to $1,455 million primarily led by distribution revenue growth of 14% and advertising revenue growth of 22%.  Excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, revenues increased 13% led by 11% distribution revenue growth, mainly from increased subscribers across all regions.  Advertising revenue in local currency terms was up 18% for full year 2011 primarily from higher pricing across all regions as well as from increased viewership at new and rebranded networks.

Adjusted OIBDA increased 18% to $645 million reflecting the 16% revenue growth, partially offset by a 15% increase in operating expenses.  Excluding the impact of foreign currency, Adjusted OIBDA growth remained at 18% as the 13% revenue growth was partially offset by a 9% increase in operating expenses primarily due to higher content amortization and increased selling, general and administrative costs.

Fourth Quarter Results

Education and Other fourth quarter revenues were in-line with a year ago.  Adjusted OIBDA decreased slightly compared to the fourth quarter of 2010 primarily due to investment in digital textbook initiatives.    

Full Year Results

Education and Other full year 2011 revenues increased $9 million and Adjusted OIBDA increased $8 million, primarily driven by higher Education revenue from growth in corporate partnerships, higher school streaming volumes and assessment services for our education business.

Corporate and Eliminations

Adjusted OIBDA decreased $14 million when compared to the fourth quarter a year ago and decreased $23 million compared to full year 2011, primarily due to stock-based compensation expense.

STOCK REPURCHASE

During the quarter, the Company pursuant to its existing stock repurchase program repurchased 7.00 million shares of its Series C common stock at an average price of $37.82 per share for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $265 million.  For the full year 2011, the Company repurchased a total of 27.16 million shares of its Series C common stock at an average price of $36.70 per share totaling approximately $997 million.  

From January 1, 2012 through February 15, 2012, the Company repurchased 2.90 million shares of its Series C common stock for approximately $114 million.

The Company has repurchased 33.05 million shares of Series C common stock under its $2.0 billion stock repurchase plan to date at an aggregate price of approximately $1.22 billion.  Under the stock repurchase program, management is authorized to purchase shares from time to time through open market purchases at prevailing prices or privately negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions and other factors.

OTHER ITEMS

The Company has expanded the components of distribution revenue reported in its financial statements to include content arrangements and other subscription services for content.  Accordingly, prior period financial information has been reclassified so that the basis of the presentation is consistent with that of the 2011 financial information.  

FULL YEAR 2012 OUTLOOK

For the full year ending December 31, 2012, Discovery Communications, Inc. expects total revenue between $4.450 billion and $4.575 billion, Adjusted OIBDA between $2.050 billion and $2.150 billion, and net income available to Discovery Communications, Inc. stockholders of $975 million to $1.075 billion.  Our outlook incorporates current foreign exchange rates for revenues and expenses and the current share price for mark-to-market stock-based compensation calculations.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

Adjusted OIBDA and Free Cash Flow

In addition to the results prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") provided in this release, the Company has presented Adjusted OIBDA and free cash flow.  The Company evaluates the operating performance of its segments based on financial measures such as revenues and adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization ("Adjusted OIBDA"). Adjusted OIBDA is defined as revenues less costs of revenues and selling, general and administrative expenses excluding: (i) mark-to-market stock-based compensation, (ii) depreciation and amortization, (iii) amortization of deferred launch incentives, (iv) exit and restructuring charges, (v) certain impairment charges, and (vi) gains (losses) on business and asset dispositions. The Company uses this measure to assess operating results and performance of its segments, perform analytical comparisons, identify strategies to improve performance and allocate resources to each segment.  The Company believes Adjusted OIBDA is relevant to investors because it allows them to analyze the operating performance of each segment using the same metric management uses and also provides investors a measure to analyze the operating performance of each segment against historical data. The Company excludes mark-to-market stock-based compensation, exit and restructuring charges, certain impairment charges, and gains (losses) on business and asset dispositions from the calculation of Adjusted OIBDA due to their volatility or non-recurring nature. The Company also excludes depreciation of fixed assets and amortization of intangible assets and deferred launch incentive, as these amounts do not represent cash payments in the current reporting period.

The Company defines free cash flow as cash provided by operating activities less acquisitions of property and equipment.  The Company uses free cash flow as it believes it is an important indicator for management and investors of the Company's liquidity, including its ability to reduce debt, make strategic investments and return capital to stockholders.

Adjusted OIBDA and free cash flow are non-GAAP measures, and should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, operating income, net income, cash flows provided by operating activities and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. Please review the supplemental financial schedules beginning on page 11 for reconciliations to GAAP measures.

Conference Call Information

Discovery Communications, Inc. will host a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss its full year and fourth quarter results.  To listen to the call, visit http://www.discoverycommunications.com or dial 1-800-901-5217 inside the U.S. and 1-617-786-2964 outside of the U.S., using the following passcode: 99332872.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties.  These statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business, which include the risk factors disclosed in its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 18, 2011. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will" and "would" or similar words.  Forward-looking statements in this release include, without limitation, the full year 2012 outlook and plans for stock repurchases.   The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

(1) See the definition of Adjusted Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization on page 6.

SOURCE Discovery Communications, Inc.