FUNimation Profits Up 47.8%
But Parent Company Navarre's Sales Down by $3.3 Million
Thanks to strong sales from Dragon Ball Z, Full Metal Alchemist and Trinity Blood, FUNimation's profits jumped by 47.8% for 2007's first quarter.
(Source: navarre.com)
FUNimation Entertainment, buoyed by strong sales from anime properties such as DragonBall Z, Full Metal Alchemist, Trinity Blood and Basilisk, recorded an impressive 47.8% spike in sales during the first quarter of 2007.
In the Navarre Corporation subsidiary's report for the quarter, which ended March 31st, listed the above anime DVD's (along with Robotech: Shadow Chronicles) as the prime reasons why FUNimation enjoyed such a stellar spring of 2007.
The newly-remastered Dragon Ball Z Season 1 box set has been especially good for FUNimation, as it's the top-selling DVD for the first half of 2007. Profits from DVD sales of Samuel L. Jackson's Afro Samurai, which also featured Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA, were not considered part of FUNimation's quarterly report because it was released too late (May 22nd) to make much of a difference to its first quarter profits. Shifting Afro-Samurai's profits to the next fiscal year actually had a negative effect on FUNimation's year-end report.
Unfortunately, FUNimation's success wasn't shared by the rest of Navarre Corporation. As a whole, Navarre posted a sales loss dropping from $171.9 million for 2006 to $168.6 million. The first quarter also marks the end of Navarre's fiscal year.
"Included in the fiscal 2007 fourth quarter net loss," the company's website claimed, "were tax adjusted charges totaling $2.2 million consisting of: costs of $1.6 million associated with debt refinancing, and a $0.6 million pre-acquisition receivable of FUNimation that was deemed unrecoverable and written off."
FUNimation's sister company BCI had a tough time selling its re-issue DVDs in an increasingly crowded market. The company also had to deal with higher-than-usual returns, which also cut into profits. Another Navarre subsidiary, Encore, also had a rough year, "due to soft performance of non-entertainment brands."
Cary Deacon, Navarre's Chief Executive Officer spun the bad news, saying, "The Company is encouraged by its improving profit performance and management of its cash from operations during the fiscal year. FUNimation had a solid growth year and we anticipate growth in that business to continue.
"While Encore experienced a difficult sales year, its management of gross margin and expenses helped maintain its profitability. The new management team at Encore is meeting its performance objectives and we are seeing the results of their efforts in our new year. BCI experienced a difficult year and is in the process of rebuilding its core business and expanding its content offerings."
Deacon continued, saying, "with the divestiture of our independent music business, we are taking steps to reduce the central expenses that were associated with that business including the streamlining of our warehouse operations."
The company also said that they had pared down their net debt from $65.8 million on March 31st, 2006, to $53 million on March 31st, 2007.
Navarre Corporation was formed in 1983 to handle publishing and distribution. It bought FUNimation on May 11, 2005.
