Discovery Communications Reports Second Quarter 2016 Results

SILVER SPRING, Md., Aug. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 

Second Quarter 2016 Financial Highlights:    

• Revenues increased 3% to $1,708 million (increased 6% excluding currency effects)
• DCI Net Income increased 43% to $408 million (increased 26% excluding currency effects)
• Diluted EPS increased 50% to $0.66 and Adjusted EPS increased 45% to $0.71 (increased 31% excluding currency effects)
• Repurchased $377 million of stock

Discovery Communications, Inc. ("Discovery" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016.

"Discovery posted a solid quarter of growth and financial results by investing in premium and diversified content that fuels the passion of superfans on pay-TV, free-to-air, direct-to-consumer and digital platforms. Our differentiated portfolio of nonfiction, sports and children's content in more than 220 markets positions Discovery for continued growth and shareholder value creation in the months and years to come," said David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery Communications.

Second Quarter Results

Second quarter revenues of $1,708 million increased 3% compared to the prior year, as 7% growth at U.S. Networks and 15% growth at Education and Other was partially offset by a slight decline at International Networks, primarily due to currency effects and the impact of the SBS Radio disposition⁽¹⁾.  Adjusted Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization ("OIBDA")⁽²⁾ increased 4% to $706 million, as 10% growth at U.S. Networks was partially offset by a 6% decline at International Networks, primarily due to currency effects.  Excluding currency effects, total Company revenues and Adjusted OIBDA grew 6% and 8%, respectively, as changes in foreign currency exchange rates reduced revenue and Adjusted OIBDA growth by 3% and 4%, respectively.  Excluding currency effects and the impact of the SBS Radio disposition, total Company revenues increased 8% and Adjusted OIBDA increased 10%.

Second quarter net income available to Discovery Communications, Inc. ("DCI Net Income") increased 43% to $408 million compared to $286 million for the second quarter of 2015, primarily due to improved operating results, currency-related transactional gains, a decrease in taxes and lower equity-based compensation, partially offset by a decline in income from equity investees, higher restructuring charges and higher interest expense.  Diluted earnings per share⁽³⁾ increased 50% to $0.66 due to higher DCI Net Income and lower shares outstanding.  Adjusted Earnings Per Diluted Share ("Adjusted EPS")⁽²⁾, which excludes the impact of amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, was up 45% to $0.71 for the second quarter 2016 compared to $0.49 for the second quarter 2015.  Adjusted EPS excluding currency effects increased 31%.

Free cash flow decreased 4% to $301 million for the second quarter of 2016 as cash flow from operations declined slightly to $329 million and capital expenditures increased 56% to $28 million due to the timing of capital expenditures throughout the year.  Capital expenditures for year to date 2016  decreased 17%.  Cash flow from operations declined slightly primarily due to improved operating performance and lower cash taxes more than offset by the timing of working capital.  Free cash flow excluding currency effects declined 6% for the second quarter.  Free cash flow is defined as cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment.

U.S. Networks' revenues in the second quarter of 2016 increased 7% to $873 million, driven by 8% distribution growth and 5% advertising growth.  Distribution revenue growth was primarily driven by higher rates, partially offset by slight declines in subscribers.  Advertising revenues increased 5% primarily due to higher pricing and inventory management, partially offset by lower delivery.

Operating expenses increased 3% mainly due to higher content amortization.  Adjusted OIBDA increased 10% to $544 million, as higher revenues were partially offset by higher operating expenses.

International Networks' revenues for the second quarter decreased 1% to $790 million and Adjusted OIBDA decreased 6% to $249 million.  Changes in foreign currency exchange rates reduced second quarter international revenues and Adjusted OIBDA growth by 4% and 10%, respectively.  Excluding currency effects and the impact of SBS Radio, total revenues were up 8%.  Distribution revenues, excluding the impact of currency effects, grew 10% mostly due to higher affiliate rates in Northern Europe and CEEMEA as well as increased affiliate rates and subscribers in Latin America.  Advertising revenues, excluding the impact of SBS Radio and currency effects, were up 5%, primarily due to higher volume and ratings in Southern Europe as well as higher pricing, ratings and volume in CEEMEA, partially offset by a decline in Northern Europe due to the impact of Brexit and lower ratings. 

Operating expenses increased 9% excluding the impact of SBS Radio and foreign currency exchange rates primarily due to increased sports content and production costs. Excluding the impact of SBS Radio and foreign currency exchange rates, Adjusted OIBDA increased 8%, reflecting revenue growth partially offset by higher operating expenses.

Education and Other revenues for the second quarter increased by $6 million primarily due to higher external production deliveries at the Studios production business. Adjusted OIBDA remained relatively consistent primarily due to higher external Studios production deliveries, offset by additional investments in Education Techbooks.

Corporate and Inter-Segment Eliminations

Adjusted OIBDA for the second quarter of 2016 decreased by $4 million primarily due to higher information technology spend.

STOCK REPURCHASE

During the quarter, the Company, pursuant to its existing stock repurchase program, repurchased 10.4 million shares of its Series C common stock at an average price of $27.47 per share, for a total of $286 million.  On May 9, 2016, the Company repurchased 1.8 million shares from Advance/Newhouse Programming Partnership ("ANPP") at $50.38 per share (or $25.19 per share on an as converted to common basis basis), for a total of $91 million pursuant to the previously announced share repurchase agreement described below between the Company and ANPP.  In total, the Company spent $377 million on share repurchases during the second quarter of 2016.

Through June 30, 2016, the Company has repurchased 133.8 million shares of Series C common stock and 2.8 million shares of its Series A common stock under its stock repurchase program.  In aggregate, including the 28.8 million preferred shares acquired from ANPP and from Advance Programming Holdings, LLC, this represents $7.4 billion of the Company's shares since buyback activity was authorized in 2010, at an average price of $26.61 per share on an adjusted basis⁽¹⁾.  Note that the aggregate share numbers have not been adjusted to reflect the stock dividend that was distributed in August 2014.

On May 22, 2014, the Company entered into a share repurchase agreement with ANPP to repurchase its shares of the Company's Series C convertible preferred stock, on a quarterly basis, in proportion to the Company's repurchases under its stock repurchase program in a manner that is intended to maintain ANPP's current ownership percentage of the Company.  This agreement was amended by letter agreement on August 25, 2014.

FULL YEAR 2016 OUTLOOK⁽²⁾

Discovery will provide forward-looking guidance in connection with this quarterly earnings announcement on its earnings conference call and webcast.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

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, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EPS and free cash flow.  These non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, operating income, net income, earnings per diluted share and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP.  Please review the supplemental financial schedules beginning on page 10 for reconciliations to GAAP measures.

Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted OIBDA Excluding the Impact of Currency Effects
The Company evaluates the operating performance of its segments based on financial measures such as revenues and Adjusted OIBDA.  Adjusted OIBDA is defined as operating income excluding: (i) mark-to-market equity-based compensation, (ii) depreciation and amortization, (iii) amortization of deferred launch incentives, (iv) restructuring and other charges, (v) certain impairment charges, (vi) gains and losses on business and asset dispositions, and (vii) certain inter-segment eliminations related to production studios.

The Company uses Adjusted OIBDA to assess the 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.  The Company excludes mark-to-market equity-based compensation, restructuring and other charges, certain impairment charges, and gains and losses on business and asset dispositions from the calculation of Adjusted OIBDA due to their volatility.  The Company also excludes depreciation of fixed assets, amortization of intangible assets and deferred launch incentives, as these amounts do not represent cash payments in the current reporting period.  Additionally, certain corporate expenses are excluded from segment results to enable executive management to evaluate segment performance based upon the decisions of segment executives.  Refer to page 6 for methodology for calculating growth rates excluding the impact of currency effects.

Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EPS and Adjusted EPS Excluding the Impact of Currency Effects
The Company defines Adjusted Net Income as net income available to Discovery Communications, Inc. stockholders excluding the impact of amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets.  Adjusted EPS is defined as earnings excluding the impact of amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets per diluted share.  Note that given the change in conversion ratio for our preferred stock, the preferred shares are now only included in the diluted share count.  The Company believes Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS are relevant to investors because these metrics allow them to evaluate the performance of the Company's operations exclusive of the non-cash amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets that impact the comparability of results from period to period.  Refer to page 6 for methodology for calculating growth rates excluding the impact of currency effects.

Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow Excluding the Impact of Currency Effects
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.  Refer to page 6 for methodology for calculating growth rates excluding the impact of currency effects.

Methodology for Calculating Growth Rates Excluding the Impact of Currency Effects
The impact of exchange rates on our business is an important factor in understanding period to period comparisons of our results. For example, our international revenues are favorably impacted as the U.S. dollar weakens relative to other foreign currencies, and unfavorably impacted as the U.S dollar strengthens relative to other foreign currencies. We believe the presentation of results on a constant currency basis (ex-FX), in addition to results reported in accordance with GAAP, provides useful information about our operating performance because the presentation ex-FX excludes the effects of foreign currency volatility and highlights our core operating results. The presentation of results on a constant currency basis should be considered in addition to, but not a substitute for, measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP.

The ex-FX change represents the percentage change on a period-over-period basis adjusted for foreign currency impacts. The ex-FX change is calculated as the difference between the current year amounts translated at a baseline rate (which is based on a spot rate for each of our currencies determined early in the fiscal year as part of our forecasting process) (the "2016 Baseline Rate") and the prior year amounts translated at the same 2016 Baseline Rate. In addition, consistent with the assumption of a constant currency environment, our ex-FX results exclude the impact of our foreign currency hedging activities as well as realized and unrealized foreign currency transaction gains and losses. Results on a constant currency basis, as we present them, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Conference Call Information

Discovery Communications, Inc. will host a conference call today, August 2, 2016 at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss its second quarter results.  To listen to the call, visit http://discoverycommunications.com or dial 1-844-452-2811 inside the U.S. and 1-574-990-9832 outside of the U.S., using the following passcode: DISCA.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties and on information available to the Company as of the date hereof. 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, 2016. 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, statements regarding investing in our programming and strategic growth initiatives and the full year 2016 outlook. 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.