Eros International Plc Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2020 Results

Reports Revenue of $43.5 Million and Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $18.6 Million

Eros Now Paying Subscribers Reach 21.1 Million as of June 30, 2019

$60 Million reduction in Gross Debt

DOUGLAS, Isle of Man–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Eros International PLC (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros” or the “Company”), a global Indian entertainment company, today announced unaudited financial results for the first quarter fiscal year 2020.

The Company made the following statement:

“We are pleased to announce a positive set of results this quarter, with $43.5 million of revenue and $18.6 million in adjusted EBITDA. The hard work and investment we have made in the Eros Now platform continues to pay off. Our Eros Now business offers users worldwide the promise of endless entertainment with one of the largest libraries of Indian movies, as well as premium television programmes, music videos and audio tracks, which are unmatched in quantity and quality. As of June 30, 2019 the platform reached 21.1 million paid monthly subscribers, a 109% increase over the same period last year. We are planning to achieve at least 50 million paid monthly subscribers within the next three years. We anticipate our registered user base to reach at least 200 million by the end of the 2020 Fiscal Year. We have a very strong slate of films and compelling original digital series scheduled for release over the coming quarters, which we expect to help drive growth in our Eros Now business.

Our strategy going forwards will pivot towards focusing on the direct to consumer user base of our Eros Now business – through increased marketing, technology advancements, innovative windowing and most importantly through best-in-class, compelling Digital content. The recent Microsoft announcement is a key part of this strategy – we will be working with one of the world’s largest and most cutting-edge technology companies to develop a digital platform that will deliver an unparalleled user experience. In parallel with the B2C focus, we will be scaling back on non-digital windowing in many overseas markets in order to help drive consumers to our Eros Now platform. Our goal has always been for Eros Now to be the ultimate destination for consumers looking for high-quality Indian entertainment anywhere in the world – this will help us get there.

We are on the cusp of completing our transformation from the Film Studio model into a Digital-led OTT business with traditional Studio offerings and capabilities. While this will have an impact on near-term revenues, principally to our syndication business in the overseas markets, this will increase the premium nature of our content and ultimately increase ARPUs and loyalty of our customers. For the full fiscal year 2020, we are forecasting consolidated revenue in the range of $200 million-220 million, Adjusted EBITDA of $80 million – 95 million and net debt in the range of $100 million – 110 million.

We have also made some management changes which we believe demonstrate the depths of our management talent pool and also put us in a stronger position to execute on our long-term plan. Firstly, Kumar Ahuja will become the Chief Operating Officer of our Indian subsidiary, Eros International Media Limited, effective immediately, and will report directly to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Ahuja has been with Eros for over 20 years and has most recently been head of Business Development for New Initiatives. Mr. Ahuja has been instrumental in negotiating and securing our China distribution partnerships and this will remain a key focus area for him.

Rishika Lulla Singh will become Chairman of Eros Digital while continuing to oversee all digital activities of the group with a focus on long-term strategy and deepening our relationships with technology and content partners around the world. Ali Hussein will become CEO of Eros Now. Mr. Hussein has been with Eros since 2017 and has been driving technology and distribution growth worldwide. His previous experiences with media and tech companies adjacent to our business, including Google, Viacom 18 and Discovery board advisory as well as growing multiple startups in the ecosystem will help him lead the Eros Now business. These management changes underscore the strength of our broader management team, which has deep experience in digital media, advertising, finance and accounting.

As announced on June 19, 2019, Eros is currently assessing strategic alternatives for the Company with a view to maximizing shareholder value and have engaged Citigroup to assist with that review. The process is ongoing and the Company will update the market accordingly, as and when there are any material developments.

Eros’ balance sheet remains conservative and the Company is well-capitalized, with net debt of $140.1 million and $80.8 million of cash and cash equivalents. The Company has no meaningful near-term debt maturities payable in cash over the next twelve months. We recently completed a $25 million equity-linked financing which gives us increased balance sheet flexibility and incremental capital to go after the digital opportunity in India and continue to create and acquire more compelling digital content.”

Results Overview

Eros Now reached 21.1 million paid subscribers as of June 30, 2019, which represents growth of 108.9% year-over-year, and registered users grew to approximately 166 million, a 46.9% increase versus the prior year period. Eros Now’s registered user base of approximately 166 million grew by 11.34 million users in the last quarter alone.

Eros Now is currently prioritizing developments on its the technology stack, with several innovations and global “firsts” to be launched later this year. The business is tailoring its technology to serve both English speaking audiences around the world and regional Indian languages to appeal to both the diaspora and growing regional populations in India. Eros Now announced a number of alliances and distribution partnerships recently, most notably with Apple +, Paytm, Vodafone Qatar, Veriown, Tata Sky Binge and WASU Media in China. This quarter Eros Now increased its focus on digital marketing, in India and globally, which helped grow our user base and engagement – the platform saw a fourfold increase in app installations in May as compared to June 2019.

Eros Now user metrics continue to show a positive trend in engagement, stickiness and loyalty among consumers. A few key highlights:

• Over 18% of our paid subscribers are accessing Eros Now through TV or Smart TV applications, in the US this figure is over 24%
• As per the Counter Point Research Report Released in June 2019
  • Eros Now is the most popular OTT Brand in the M/F Segment of 25-24
  • 68% of Eros Now users Indicate they watch content daily compared to 58% as the average for other incumbent services
  • Eros Now is the most popular VOD service across rural Tier 2,3 cities in India with over 50% market share

Content & Programming

Our major Eros Now original series this quarter was a biopic on Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister – Modi – The Journey of a Common Man – which was released in 4 regional languages (Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada) to cater to regional audiences. The series was also released in Hindi. The series garnered strong viewership in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh among others. Ahmedabad, a rural city in India, had the largest viewership of any city in India for the Modi series.

In June we released an Eros Now Quickie ‘My name is Sheela,’ a story of a domestic worker who overcomes many hurdles in life to become a social media star. It is a slice of life story that is full of irreverent dialogues and funny performances by Sheela as a standup comedian. In June we also celebrated Short Films with the launch of three Eros Now Original Short Films: ‘A Monsoon Date’ – about an eventful, rainy evening when a young woman is on her way to see a young man she is dating; ‘That Man in the picture’ – guilt weighs heavy on a man after he witnesses a murder of a young girl; and ‘Maunn’ – about rift between two families when a shocking revelation compels a couple to face a truth but are unable to confront the perpetrator. All the short films have been very well received among the respective audiences and have registered some of the highest engagement we’ve received to date. Our short films have also received accolades and awards at leading film festivals. Maunn was the Winner of the Asia Pacific Film Festival in Los Angeles, and was nominated at the Vancouver International Film Festival amongst others. ‘The Monsoon Date’ was also the Official Selection at the 20th MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. This quarter we continued our strategy of weekly movie premieres and launching new short form assets on the platform, and delivered a very strong and diverse portfolio of content and programming across the platform.

Marketing and Promotion

The beginning of this quarter saw the launch of a 360 degree campaign for Modi across 24 markets in India. It was one of our largest and most extensive marketing campaigns for an Original Series on Eros Now. It was also the first time in the last year that we targeted a mainstream advertising campaign beyond the larger Indian cities and went into “mini-Metros” such as Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and others. Our marketing efforts were successful, with the Modi campaign ultimately generating over 100 million impressions across TV, print, online and all other platforms in India and globally. Eros Now expanded its financial sector marketing and promotion partnerships with launch of partners such as Axis Bank, American Express, Paytm and others. In particular, Paytm First was big win for Eros Now, which is one of only two Video OTT brands to partner with of Paytm.

Release Slate

As we progress through Fiscal Year 2020, we have a strong film slate, which includes ‘Kaptan’ starring Saif Ali Khan, the trilingual remake of ‘Haathi mere Saathi’ and ‘Kaamiyab’as well as a host of regional releases. In addition, Eros has a series of originals coming up on Eros Now that it expects to release in the coming quarters, including:

• Flesh by Siddharth Anand (target release Q2 FY20)
• Brahmm by Gaurav Sharma (target release Q2 FY20)
• Halahal, a digital film, by Zeishan Qadri (target release Q3 FY20)
• Avatar: The Legend of Vishnu by Anirudh Pathak and Sree Narayan Singh (target release Q4 FY20)
• Metro Park 2 by Abi Varghese and Ajayan Venugopalan (target release Q4 FY20)
• Crisis by Gaurav Chawla and Nikhil Advani (target release Q4 FY20)
• Ponnyein Selvin (target release FY Y21)
• Smoke 2 by Neel Guha (target release FY Y21)
• Bhumi by Pavan Kripalani (target release FY Y21)

Eros International Plc Financial Highlights:

Financial Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2019

Revenue

In the three months ended June 30, 2019, the Eros film slate comprised of 12 low budget films, as compared to 14 films in the three months ended June 30, 2018, of which one was medium budget and 13 were low budget films. In addition, Eros Now released five original series titled Modi: Journey of a Common Man, My name is Sheela, A Monsoon Date, That Man In The Picture and Maunn during the three months ended June 30, 2019.

In the three months ended June 30, 2019, the Company’s slate of 12 films comprised of one Hindi film and 11 regional films as compared to the same period last year where its slate of 14 films comprised three Hindi films, two Tamil films and nine regional language films.

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, reported revenue was $43.5 million compared to $60.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018. After making adjustment towards significant financing component under IFRS 15 as per details hereunder, gross revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2019 is $43.5 million compared to $66.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018. There was no adjustment towards significant financing component under IFRS 15 in the three months ended June 30, 2019 because there was no revenue accounted with credit period more than 365 days.

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, aggregate revenues from decreased by 27.7% to $43.5 million from $60.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 mainly due to lower syndication revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2019, partially offset by increase in revenues largely from the Eros Now business for the three months ended June 30, 2018

Cost of sales

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, cost of sales decreased by 54.9% to $16.5 million compared to $36.6 million in the three months ended June 30, 2018. The decrease was mainly due to lower amortization costs.

Administrative cost

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, administrative cost increased by 97% to $26.0 million compared to $13.2 million in the three months ended June 30, 2018. The increase was mainly due to increase in expected credit loss accounted as per default method under IFRS 9.

Gross profit

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, gross profit increased by 14.4% to $27.0 million, compared to $23.6 million in the three months ended June 30, 2018. The increase was mainly due to a decrease in amortization, marketing, advertising and distribution costs, which was partially offset by an increase in administrative cost.

Adjusted EBITDA (Non- GAAP)

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, Adjusted EBITDA was $18.6 million compared to $27.5 million in the three months ended June 30, 2018. The Adjusted EBITDA margin based on Gross Revenue was 42.8% in the three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to 41.3% in the three months ended June 30, 2018. The improvement in margins was largely due to an decrease in amortization charge over the same period.

Net finance costs

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, net finance costs decreased by 8.7% to $2.1 million, compared to $2.3 million in the three months ended June 30, 2018 mainly due to an increase in finance cost which was partially offsetted by interest income on account of unwinding of credit impairment loss.

Income tax expense

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, income tax expenses decreased by 37.9% to $1.8 million, compared to $2.9 million in the three months ended June 30, 2018. Effective income tax rates were 32.8% and 15.0% for June 30, 2019 and June 30, 2018, respectively excluding non-deductible share-based payment charges, impairment loss and gain/loss on fair valuation of derivative liabilities. The change in effective rate principally reflects a change in the mix of the profits earned from taxable and non- taxable jurisdictions.

Trade receivables

As of June 30, 2019, Trade Receivables increased to $200.3 million from $196.4 million as of March 31, 2019. The increase in receivables is on account of unwinding of expected credit loss (included in finance income) as per IFRS 15 amounting to $2.9 million in the three months ended June 30, 2019.

Net debt

As of June 30, 2019, net debt decreased by 3.4% to $140.1 million from $145.0 million as of March 31, 2019 primarily on account of repayment of loans.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call on Tuesday October 8th, 2019, at 8:30 AM Eastern Standard Time.

To access the call please dial (888) 753-4238 from the United States, or +1 (706) 643-3355 from outside the U.S. The conference call I.D. number is 2697233. Participants should dial in 5 to 10 minutes before the scheduled time.

A replay of the call can be accessed through October 22, 2019 by dialling (800) 585-8367 from the U.S., or +1 (404) 537-3406 from outside the U.S. The conference call I.D. number is 2697233. The call will be available as a live webcast, which can be accessed at Eros’ Investor Relations website.

About Eros International Plc

Eros International Plc (NYSE: EROS) is a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry that acquires, co-produces and distributes Indian films across all available formats such as cinema, television and digital new media. Eros International Plc was the first Indian media company to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Eros International has experience of over three decades in establishing a global platform for Indian cinema. The Company has an extensive and growing movie library comprising of over 3,000 films, which include Hindi, Tamil, and other regional language films. The Company also owns the rapidly growing OTT platform Eros Now which has rights to over 12,000 films across Hindi and regional languages. For further information, please visit: www.erosplc.com.

This release contains “forward-looking statements.” These statements include, among other things, the discussions of our business strategy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity and capital resources, tax assessment orders and future capital expenditures. All of our forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we are expecting, including, without limitation, the factors discussed in our most recent Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 14th, 2019 (the “20-F”), including under the sections captioned “Risk Factors.” The forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are based on historical performance and management’s current plans, estimates and expectations in light of information currently available to us and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global, regional or local political, economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, as well as the other factors described in the 20-F under the sections captioned “Risk Factors.”

Contacts

Mark Carbeck

Chief Corporate and Strategy Officer

Eros International PLC

[email protected]
+44 207 258 9909

Erica Bartsch

Sloane & Company

212-446-1875

[email protected]

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