The Technicolor Group recorded 1Q 2015 revenues of €805 million at current currency, up 8.3% from the same period last year (€744 million). At constant currency, Q1 2015 revenues were down 3.2%.

While the Entertainment Services division recorded a 9.2% growth to €358 million, revenues in its DVD Services sub-division decreased in the first quarter of 2015, reflecting an 11% decline in combined Standard Definition DVD and Blu-ray disc volumes compared to a very strong first quarter of 2014, which benefited from the significant success of Disney's Frozen.

This decline in volumes also resulted from continued weakness in the fourth quarter of 2014 of major new releases across Technicolor's key studio customers (which reported a 13% year-on-year decrease in their Q4 2014 box office revenues). Volume trends were generally better in Europe than in North America in the period.

During the first quarter of 2015, Standard Definition DVD volumes decreased at a lower rate of decline compared to the second half of 2014, driven by growth in independent (non-studio) customers, as well as significant growth from one key studio customer across both new releases and catalog. Blu-ray disc volumes declined in the first quarter of 2015 compared to a very strong first quarter of 2014 as it was also impacted by Frozen and the introduction of the Xbox One platform that occurred in late 2013, says Technicolor.



Xbox One volume was stable during the period, due to the seasonal second half timing of key new releases, while demand for the prior generation Xbox platform continued to decline as Technicolor expected.
The group says the first calendar quarter is typically a seasonally slow period for major Games releases, and specific to the first quarter of 2015, the overall release slate for the Group?s major studio customers was not particularly strong.

The improvement in 2015 box office performance to date and a high quality upcoming release slate for both Theatrical and Games titles are expected to help support improved year-on-year comparative volume trends in the second half of 2015. Major titles produced in the first quarter of 2015 included Big Hero 6 (Disney), The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Warner), Unbroken (Universal) and Interstellar (Paramount/Warner).

Story filed 02.05.15