ICONIX REPORTS DISAPPOINTING FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS
Iconix Brand Group, Inc., which licenses, markets, and/or owns such brands as Joe Boxer, Marc Ecko, Ed Hardy, and Nick Graham, reported disappointing financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2015.
For the fourth quarter of 2015, licensing revenue was approximately $94.7 million, a 1% decline as compared to approximately $96.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Iconix for the fourth quarter of 2015 was approximately $38.0 million, a 14% decline as compared to approximately $44.3 million in the prior year quarter. Net income attributable to Iconix was approximately $12.3 million, a 46% decrease as compared to the prior year quarter of approximately $22.7 million.
Licensing revenue for the full year ended December 31, 2015 was approximately $379.2 million, a 3% decline as compared to approximately $391.5 million for 2014. Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Iconix for the full year 2015 was approximately $172.7 million, an 18% decline as compared to approximately $211.1 million in the prior year. Net income attributable to Iconix for 2015 was approximately $66.4 million, a 36% decline as compared to approximately $103.6 million in the prior year.
As Peter Cuneo, the chairman and interim CEO of Iconix, stated, the company faced a number of major hurdles last year. “When I took over as Interim CEO about eight months ago, there were three key areas of concern/ These were the need to refinance the $300 million convertible notes due in June, the continuing dialog with the staff of the SEC regarding certain historical accounting, and finally to bring a new CEO into the company with the right experience and leadership qualities to take us into the future,” he said.
“I am pleased to say we have met each of these challenges. We signed a new $300 million term loan in order to address the upcoming maturity of our convertible notes. The company has reached conclusions on the matters that were the subject of our comment letter process with the staff of the SEC, and we brought John Haugh to the company. Looking forward, 2016 will be a year of restaging the business, but I believe with the right investments in our brands and our organization, as well as increased support to our licensing partners, we can strengthen our revenue and continue to generate strong free cash flow in the future, driving long term value for our company and our shareholders.”
As of 9:30 a.m., Iconix was trading on the NASDAQ at 7.64, and approximately 6.5% drop from its end-of-Monday closing price.