Thunderbird Entertainment Group Reports Fiscal 2025 Q3 Results

National Post

12-05-2025

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. (TSXV: TBRD, OTCQX: THBRF) ('Thunderbird' or the 'Company') today announced its Q3 fiscal 2025 results for the three and nine-month periods ended March 31, 2025, and provided a corporate update.
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Revenue increased 29% from $35.4 million to $45.5 million and 22% from $113.5 million to $138.3 million for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2025. This growth is attributable to an increase in production service engagements in the quarter.
Adjusted AEBITDA ('AEBITDA') 1 increased 79% from $3.3 million to $5.9 million and 46% from $9.7 million to $14.2 million for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2025. AEBITDA Margins 1 increased 160 basis points year-over-year from 8.6% to 10.2%. This increase is attributable to the growth in revenues and reduction in amortization and finance costs over the comparative periods.
Net income was $2.2 million and $4.5 million for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2025, representing increases of $2.2 million and $4.6 million from the comparative periods a year ago. These increases are also attributable to the increase in revenues and reduction in finance costs and amortization over the comparative periods.
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The Company maintains its forecast of a return to top-line growth in fiscal 2025, targeting for 20% revenue growth and over 10% AEBITDA 1 growth. The variance between revenue and AEBITDA 1 growth reflects the anticipated Gross Margin 1 difference associated with the types of projects being forecasted in fiscal 2025 compared to fiscal 2024.
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The Company continues to search for efficiencies that will generate additional savings throughout 2025 without sacrificing the quality that the Company is known for. Thunderbird's balance sheet remains robust, with no corporate debt, providing the financial flexibility needed to pursue growth opportunities. This strength supports the Company's plans to invest in new content production, a key driver of future growth. By aligning its content strategy with disciplined financial oversight, Thunderbird is committed to delivering increased value to shareholders.
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The Company's fiscal 2025 outlook is based on the Company's latest internal projections, though certain risks remain, including the recent US announcement of potential tariffs on non-US produced content. On this front, few details are currently available that would allow the Company to assess the potential impact, if any, of these developments on the business. The Company will continue to monitor this evolving situation and adapt plans as considered necessary.
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'At Thunderbird, we take pride in delivering on our promises. The Company is on track to deliver a strong 2025 and the growth outlined in our guidance,' said Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO and Chair of Thunderbird. 'While the world continues to navigate uncertainty, we remain focused on driving Thunderbird forward, one step at a time, with a strategic, measured and resilient approach. Our diverse product offerings and partnerships ensure the health of our business, and Thunderbird is well recognized for creating and delivering premium content that spans across many genres.'
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In fiscal 2025 Q3, the Company had 24 programs in various stages of production and was working with more than 15 clients. Of the 24 programs in production, six were Thunderbird intellectual property, and 18 were service productions.
Thunderbird Kids and Family, producing under Atomic Cartoons ('Atomic'), was in production on 17 programs, and working for 10 clients, including: Super Team Canada for Bell Media's Crave, The Day You Begin for PBS Kids, Zombies: The Re-Animated Series for Disney+, Marvel's Iron Man and his Awesome Friends for Disney Junior, Marvel's Spidey and his Amazing Friends (Seasons 3 and 4) for Disney Junior, among others, and Atomic original Mermicorno: Starfall for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Thunderbird Unscripted, producing under Great Pacific Media ('GPM'), was in production on six unscripted series for five clients in Q3, including: Timber Titans (Season 2) for USA Network (Canada), Highway Thru Hell (Season 14) for USA Network (Canada), Rocky Mountain Wreckers (Season 1) for The Weather Channel (US) and USA Network (Canada), Extracted (Season 1) for Fox/Sony Pictures and Wild Rose Vets (Season 2) for APTN.
GPM was also in production on the scripted movie Sidelined 2: Intercepted, which is the sequel to Tubi Original movie Sidelined: The QB and Me.
Company highlights during and subsequent to the quarter included celebrating the historic 200th episode of Highway Thru Hell, Molly of Denali winning a Children's and Family Emmy award for Outstanding Writing for a Preschool Animated Series for the episode 'Not a Mascot', Company productions being recognized with eight 2025 Canadian Screen Awards nominations, two British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations, two animators at Atomic being named to Animation Magazine's Rising Stars of Animation 2025 list, and Thunderbird being included on the annual Report on Business Women Lead Here list.
During the quarter, the Company had seven scripted projects in active development, of which three are in paid network development.
In Q3, Thunderbird Brands signed new distribution agreements for BooSnoo! with LRT (Lithuania) (Seasons 1 & 2), PTS (Taiwan) (Seasons 1 & 2), ERR (Estonia) (Season 1), and SVT (Sweden) (Season 2).
Thunderbird Brands acquisition Mittens & Pants, which is produced by Toronto-based Windy Isle Entertainment, was greenlit for a third season by CBC, with Sky Kids UK and Ireland on-board as a broadcast partner. Thunderbird has also secured more international sales for the adorable live-action preschool series, including streamers Peacock, HappyKids and Kidoodle.TV (Season 2) in the US, and Canadian French-language broadcasters TFO and Radio-Canada (Season 1) in Canada. The series is now available in 78 territories.
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For the three months ended
For the nine months ended
Mar 31, 2025
Mar 31, 2024
Mar 31, 2025
Mar 31, 2024
($000's, except per share data)
$
$
$
$
Revenue
45,459
35,371
138,303
113,510
Expenses
43,248
35,366
133,762
113,614
Net income (loss) for the period
2,211
5
4,541
(104)
AEBITDA 1
5,852
3,347
14,150
9,740
AEBITDA Margin 1
12.9%
9.5%
10.2%
8.6%
Basic and diluted income per share
0.04
–
0.09
–
1 These items are Non-IFRS Measures. See 'Non-IFRS Measures' and 'Reconciliations Tables' section of this press release for further information.
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For more information, please see the financial statements and the management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) for the Q3 results for fiscal 2025, which ended March 31, 2025, available on SEDAR+ and the Company's website.
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Conference Call & Webcast Information
Date: May 13, 2025
Time: 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET
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Press *1 to ask a question, press *1 again to withdraw your question, or *0 for operator assistance.
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Participants joining by phone are requested to call the conference line 10 minutes early to avoid wait times while connecting to the call. The conference call will be webcast live and available for replay via the 'Investors' section of the Thunderbird website.
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Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. is a global award-winning, full-service multiplatform production, distribution and rights management company, headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Los Angeles and Ottawa. Thunderbird creates award-winning scripted, unscripted, and animated programming for the world's leading digital platforms, as well as Canadian and international broadcasters. The Company develops, produces, and distributes animated, factual, and scripted content through its various content arms, including Thunderbird Kids and Family (Atomic Cartoons), Thunderbird Unscripted (Great Pacific Media) and Thunderbird Scripted. Productions under the Thunderbird umbrella include Mermicorno: Starfall, Super Team Canada, Molly of Denali, Highway Thru Hell, Kim's Convenience, Boot Camp and Sidelined: The QB and Me. Thunderbird Distribution and Thunderbird Brands manage global media and consumer products rights, respectively, for the Company and select third parties. Thunderbird is on Facebook, X, and Instagram at @tbirdent. For more information, visit: www.thunderbird.tv.
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SOURCE Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc.
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Certain statements in this press release contain 'forward-looking information' or may be 'forward-looking statements' for the purposes of applicable securities laws (collectively, 'forward-looking statements'). Forward-looking statements of information may be identified by words such as 'anticipate', 'continue', 'estimate', 'expect', 'forecast', 'may', 'will', 'plan', 'project', 'should', 'believe', 'intend', or similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Examples of forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, forecasting a return to top-line growth in fiscal 2025, forecasted 2025 growth in revenue and AEBITDA 1; anticipated Gross Margin 1 differences; being successful in increasing efficiencies and realizing additional savings throughout fiscal 2025; successfully investing in new content production; aligning content strategy with disciplined financial oversight to deliver increased value to shareholders; potential tariffs on non-US produced contact and impact to the business, ensuring the health of our business through the Company's diverse product offerings and partnerships; or the strength of the Company's growth strategy.
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Financial outlook and future-oriented financial information, as with forward-looking statements generally, are, without limitation, based on the assumptions and estimates and subject to various risks. The targets, forecasts and projections included herein, and the related assumptions, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. While management of Thunderbird believes there is a reasonable basis for these targets, forecasts and projections, such targets, forecasts, or projections may not be achieved. The Company's actual financial position and results of operations may differ materially from management's current expectations and, as a result, among other things, the Company's future revenue and AEBITDA 1 may differ materially from the financial outlooks and future-oriented information provided in this press release. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the foregoing information.
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Forward looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic and social uncertainties; market segment conditions; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; product capability and acceptance; international risk and currency exchange rates; and technology changes. An assessment of these risks that could cause actual results to materially differ from current expectations is contained in the 'Risks and Uncertainties' section of the Company's June 30, 2024, MD&A. The foregoing is not an exhaustive list. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to Thunderbird or that management believes to be less significant may also adversely affect the Company. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements contained in this document (including statements containing future-oriented financial information) are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which represent the Company's views as of the date hereof and therefore such information should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
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NON-IFRS MEASURES
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In addition to the results reported in accordance with IFRS, the Company uses various non-IFRS financial measures which are not recognized under IFRS and therefore do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS, as supplemental indicators of our operating performance and financial position. The Company's method of calculating such financial measures may differ from the methods used by other issuers and, accordingly, our definition of these non-IFRS financial measures may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. These non-IFRS financial measures are provided to enhance the user's understanding of our historical and current financial performance and our prospects for the future. Management believes that these measures provide useful information in that they exclude amounts that are not indicative of our core operating results and ongoing operations and provide a more consistent basis for comparison between periods. The following discussion explains the Company's use of AEBITDA, AEBITDA Margins and Gross Margins and provides reconciliations to the most directly comparable financial measures under IFRS.
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'AEBITDA' is calculated based on EBITDA before share-based compensation, unrealized foreign exchange gain/loss and items of an unusual or one-time nature that do not reflect our ongoing operations. AEBITDA is commonly reported and widely used by investors and lenders as an indicator of a company's operating performance and ability to incur and service debt, and as a valuation metric. The most directly comparable measure under IFRS is net income.
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'AEBITDA Margins' is calculated as a ratio of AEBITDA over total revenues. AEBITDA Margin is a non-IFRS ratio when applied to non-IFRS financial measures.
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'Gross Margin' is calculated as a ratio of revenue that exceeds direct operating costs. Management considers Gross Margin a useful indicator of profitability before operating and other expenses, aiding in the assessment of the Company's ability to generate net earnings and cash flow. The most directly comparable measure under IFRS is gross profit.
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For the three months ended
For the nine months ended
Mar 31, 2025
Mar 31, 2024
Mar 31, 2025
Mar 31, 2024
($000's)
$
$
$
$
Net income (loss) for the period
2,211
5
4,541
(104)
Income tax expense
401
569
2,093
344
Deferred income tax expense (recovery)
322
(563)
(255)
91
Finance costs
Interest expense (income)
247
358
461
990
Dividends on redeemable preferred shares
7
7
22
22
Amortization
Property and equipment
608
390
1,380
1,376
Right-of-use assets
1,549
1,731
4,589
5,418
Intangible assets
–
67
136
203
3,134
2,559
8,426
8,444
EBITDA
5,345
2,564
12,967
8,340
Share-based compensation
289
193
648
622
Unrealized foreign exchange loss (gain)
(99)
(46)
402
6
Loss (gain) on disposal of property and equipment
–
1
(356)
7
Loss on termination of leases
–
65
–
40
Restructuring and other costs
317
570
489
725
507
783
1,183
1,400
AEBITDA
5,852
3,347
14,150
9,740
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The following table presents the reconciliation from Gross Profit to Gross Margin, for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.
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Contacts
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