Iconix Brand Group Reports Decreases in Licensing Revenue for Q1

Multi-brand and licensing company Iconix Brand Group, Inc. announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015. Q1 licensing revenue was approximately $95.4 million, a 15% decrease as compared to approximately $112.2 million in the first quarter of 2014. After excluding $17.1 million of revenue recorded in the first quarter of 2014 related to the five-year renewal of the Peanuts specials with ABC, licensing revenue in the first quarter of 2015 was approximately flat to the prior year quarter.

Neil Cole, Chairman and CEO of Iconix Brand Group, Inc. commented, “In the first quarter we continued to execute on our global strategy and remain focused on international, entertainment and sports as key drivers of our growth. Our international business continued to grow in the first quarter with our joint ventures in Australia, India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, as well as our Latin America business, each delivering double-digit gains. We expect our Pony acquisition to generate increasing value throughout the year for our entertainment and sports platforms, and our core licensing business remains healthy. Reflecting these drivers, and the strong results we expect to achieve in the second half of the year, we believe we are on track to deliver on the 2015 guidance we provided earlier this year.”

In Q1, the company acquired the remaining 50% of its Iconix China joint venture and, as a result, recognized a $47.4 million pre-tax non-cash gain related to the re-measurement of its initial investment. Similarly, in the first quarter of 2014, the Company acquired the remaining 50% of its Latin America joint venture and, as a result, recognized a $37.9 million pre-tax non-cash gain. Both of these gains are excluded from the Company’s non-GAAP metrics.