4Kids Entertainment (KDE) - Resultaten 2004

4Kids Entertainment Announces Fourth Quarter And Year-End ResultsWednesday March 16, 4:09 pm ET
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2005--4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: KDE - News) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2004.
For fiscal year 2004, net revenues were $103.3 million as compared to $102.1 million in 2003. Net income for the year was $12.7 million or $0.89 per diluted share, as compared to $14.8 million, or $1.05 per diluted share in 2003. The diluted weighted average common shares outstanding for the year ended December 31, 2004 were 14,335,343 shares compared to 14,156,291 shares in the prior year.
Net revenues in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2004 were $34.1 million, as compared to $32.4 million for the same period in 2003. Fourth quarter net income was $5.0 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, as compared to $5.3 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, for the same period in 2003.
Alfred R. Kahn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 4Kids Entertainment, said, "Our fourth quarter results reflect strong holiday sales of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles licensed merchandise and our Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. Several factors, however, adversely affected our 2004 earnings. Year over year reduced revenue earned on Yu-Gi-Oh! was only partially offset by increased revenue from our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cabbage Patch Kids properties. Additionally, the Company incurred approximately $1.2 million ($.05 per diluted share) in external costs to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Further, while the amount of the 4Kids TV broadcast fee paid to Fox for the broadcast year beginning September 2004 is the same as the fee for the 2003 broadcast year, a shift in advertising revenue into the fourth quarter, required the Company to amortize an additional $0.9 million ($.03 per diluted share) of the 4Kids TV broadcast fee in 2004 as compared with 2003.
"We have begun an important initiative re-branding both the Company's four hour block of programming on FOX as 4Kids TV and the Company's consumer website as 4Kids.TV," continued Kahn.
The Company's upgraded 4Kids.TV website provides richer content and streaming video of full length cartoon episodes of many of the Company's popular shows. The 4Kids.TV website demonstrates the convergence of the Internet and television and provides kids with access to their favorite 4Kids' content, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"Looking ahead," Kahn said, "we are optimistic about 2005. We anticipate continued strength in our core brands - Yu-Gi-Oh!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cabbage Patch Kids - as well as contributions from our new girls programming - Winx Club, Mew Mew Power and Magical Do Re Mi. We expect that properties introduced last year such as One Piece and the Royal Air Force will start to contribute to revenue in 2005. We are also pleased to announce that we have signed a deal with Hasbro to broadcast a new GI Joe animated series beginning in September 2005. GI Joe and Magical Do Re Mi are scheduled to debut on 4Kids TV this fall.
"We believe that our diversified group of properties and significant financial resources will enable us to continue building long-term value for our shareholders."
About 4Kids Entertainment
Headquartered in New York City with international offices in London, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: KDE - News) is a global provider of children's entertainment and merchandise licensing. 4Kids, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, provides domestic and international merchandise licensing; product development; television, film, music and home video production and distribution; media buying and planning; and Web site development. For further information, please visit the Company's Web site at www.4KidsEntertainment.com and www.4Kids.TV