![]() |
Marvel Entertainment, Inc. - FORM 10-Q - November 3, 2009
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
For the
quarterly period ended September 30,
2009
or
For the
transition period from ___________________ to ___________________
Commission
file number 1-13638
MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code: (212)-576-4000
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the past 90 days.
Yes þ No
¨
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on
its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be
submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this
chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to submit and post such files).
Yes ¨ No
¨ [This
requirement is not yet applicable to the registrant.]
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See
definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller
reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes ¨ No
þ
At
October 30, 2009, the number of outstanding shares of the registrant's common
stock, par value $.01 per share, was 78,500,680, including 474,312 shares of
restricted stock.
Introductory
Note
On August
31, 2009, Marvel Entertainment, Inc. announced that it had entered into a merger
agreement with The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”). Unless otherwise
stated, the forward-looking information contained in this report does not take
into account or give effect to the impact of our proposed merger with
Disney. For additional information regarding the proposed merger, please
see the discussion under the heading “Description of Business and Principles of
Consolidation—Recent Developments—Proposed Merger with The Walt Disney Company”
in Note 2 to our condensed consolidated financial statements.
(Unaudited) CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(unaudited)
The
accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are an
integral part of these statements. CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(unaudited)
The
accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are an
integral part of these statements. CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY
AND
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(unaudited)
*Comprehensive
income attributable to Marvel Entertainment, Inc. stockholders was
$94,079.
**Comprehensive
income attributable to Marvel Entertainment, Inc. stockholders was
$141,408.
The
accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are an
integral part of these statements. CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(unaudited)
The
accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are an
integral part of these statements. NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
The
accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Marvel
Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America
(“GAAP”) for interim financial information and in accordance with the
instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation
S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and
footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete
financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments
(consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair
statement of financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the
periods presented have been included. The unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Income for the three and nine-month periods ended
September 30, 2009 and the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Equity
and Comprehensive Income and Cash Flows for the nine-month period ended
September 30, 2009 are not necessarily indicative of those for the full year
ending December 31, 2009. The year-end 2008 condensed consolidated
balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not
include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in
the United States of America. For further information on our
historical financial results, refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements and
Notes thereto contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2008.
Certain
reclassifications have been made to prior periods to conform to the current
period presentation. Specifically, we have made adjustments as a
result of the adoption of authoritative guidance on noncontrolling interests
(see Note 2).
Description
of Business and Principles of Consolidation
Recent
Developments
Proposed Merger
with The Walt Disney Company. On August 31,
2009, Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (“Marvel”) entered into an Agreement and Plan
of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”)
pursuant to which Disney has agreed to acquire Marvel (the
“Merger”). The Merger Agreement has been approved by the Boards of
Directors of both Marvel and Disney.
Subject
to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of
the Merger (the “Effective Time”) each share of Marvel common stock issued and
outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than any dissenting
shares and treasury shares and subject to adjustment for certain changes in
Disney common stock or Marvel common stock such as reclassifications or stock
splits) will be converted into the right to receive (i) $30 in cash (the
“Cash Consideration”) and (ii) 0.7452 shares of Disney common stock (the
“Exchange Ratio”, and together with the Cash Consideration, the “Merger
Consideration”). However, if the aggregate value of all shares of
Disney common stock that would be issued pursuant to the Merger (other than
shares issued to a subsidiary of Marvel or a subsidiary of Disney) (the “Total
Stock Consideration”), valued at the Closing Date Price (as defined below), is
less than 40% of the sum of the Total Stock Consideration plus the total amount
of cash paid to Marvel stockholders (including cash paid in lieu of fractional
shares and deemed paid in respect of dissenting shares) (the “Total Merger
Consideration”), then the Exchange Ratio will be increased, and the amount of
cash paid per share of Marvel common stock will be correspondingly decreased,
until the total stock consideration equals 40% of the Total Merger
Consideration. The Closing Date Price is the lesser of (a) the
closing price, (b) the average of the high and low sales prices and (c) the
weighted average trading price, in each case, for one share of Disney common
stock on the closing date of the merger as reported on the NYSE. For
every 0.0001 increase to the Exchange Ratio that is made, the amount of cash
paid per share of Marvel common stock will be reduced by the product of 0.0001
multiplied by the average of $26.84 and the Closing Date Price. MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
The
completion of the Merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including,
among other things, the approval of the Merger by the stockholders of Marvel,
the receipt of antitrust approvals, compliance by Disney and Marvel with their
respective obligations under the Merger Agreement, and the effectiveness of a
Form S-4 registration statement filed by Disney.
The
Merger Agreement contains certain termination rights for each of Disney and
Marvel. If the merger agreement is terminated under specified
circumstances (including a termination by Marvel in response to a superior
proposal to Disney’s merger proposal), Marvel may be required to pay Disney a
termination fee of $140 million.
Concurrently
with the execution of the Merger Agreement, Disney entered into a voting
agreement (the “Voting Agreement”) with Isaac Perlmutter, our Chief Executive
Officer, several of his affiliates and Marvel. Pursuant to the terms
of the Voting Agreement, Mr. Perlmutter and those affiliates agreed, among
other things, to vote their respective shares of Marvel common stock
(representing approximately 37% of the outstanding shares of Marvel common
stock) in favor of the adoption of the Merger Agreement and approval of the
Merger and against the approval of any alternative
transaction. Additionally, pursuant to the terms of the Voting
Agreement, Mr. Perlmutter and those affiliates have agreed not to sell or
transfer their respective shares of Marvel common stock, subject to certain
exceptions, or to solicit any alternative transaction. The Voting
Agreement will terminate upon the earliest to occur of the Effective Time of the
Merger and the termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with its
terms.
The
Merger Agreement, the Merger and the Voting Agreement are described in greater
detail in Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed by
Disney with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 27,
2009.
General
Marvel
Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries constitute one of the world’s most
prominent character-based entertainment companies, with a proprietary library of
over 5,000 characters.
We
operate in three integrated and complementary operating segments: Licensing,
Publishing and Film Production.
We are
party to a joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., called
Spider-Man Merchandising L.P. (the “Joint Venture”), for pursuing licensing
opportunities, relating to characters based upon movies or television shows
featuring Spider-Man and produced by Sony. The Joint Venture is
consolidated in our financial statements as a result of our having control of
all significant decisions relating to the ordinary course of business of the
Joint Venture and our receiving the majority of the financial interest of the
Joint Venture. The operations of the Joint Venture are included in
our Licensing segment.
The
accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include our accounts
and those of our subsidiaries, including the Film Slate Subsidiaries (as defined
in our Form 10-K) and, the Joint Venture. Upon consolidation, all
inter-company accounts and transactions are eliminated.
Supplemental
Disclosure of Cash Flow Information
MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
Our
film-production expenditures, including expenditures funded by draw-downs from
our film facility, appear on our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows
as cash used in operating activities. Those draw-downs appear on our
condensed consolidated statements of cash flows as cash provided by financing
activities. Likewise, cash collections from our film productions are
reflected in cash provided by operating activities; however, the related
increase in restricted cash funded by these collections is reflected as cash
used in our investing activities.
For the
nine-month period ended September 30, 2009, the impairment of long-term assets
principally includes a $1.8 million charge to write-off certain animation
production costs in the Licensing segment and a $1.7 million write-off of
abandoned script costs and associated pre-production costs in the Film
Production segment.
For the
nine-month period ended September 30, 2008, the impairment of long-term assets
represented a $1.7 million write-off of costs associated with an abandoned
script in the Film Production segment.
Recent
Accounting Standards Adopted in 2009
In
June 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued
authoritative guidance (the “Codification”), which was launched on July 1,
2009 and became the single source of authoritative nongovernmental GAAP,
superseding existing FASB, AICPA, Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) and related
literature. The Codification eliminates the GAAP hierarchy and
establishes one level of authoritative GAAP. All other literature is
considered non-authoritative. This Codification is effective for
financial statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after
September 15, 2009. The implementation of this guidance changed
how we disclose authoritative accounting pronouncements in the notes to our
consolidated financial statements.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on noncontrolling
interests. The guidance clarifies that a noncontrolling interest in a
subsidiary is an ownership interest in the consolidated entity that should be
reported as a component of equity in the consolidated financial statements and
requires disclosure, on the face of the consolidated statements of income, of
the amounts of consolidated net income attributable to the company and to the
noncontrolling interests. This guidance is effective for fiscal years
beginning on or after December 15, 2008. On January 1, 2009, we
adopted the provisions of this guidance. The implementation of this
guidance did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements
or results of operations. The 2008 financial information has been
revised so that the basis of presentation is consistent with the 2009 financial
information.
In
February 2008, the FASB issued amendments to authoritative guidance on fair
value measurements, which deferred the effective date of authoritative guidance
on fair value measurements for all nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial
liabilities to fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2008. On
January 1, 2009, we adopted these amendments to this authoritative
guidance. On January 1, 2008, we adopted the provisions of this
authoritative guidance on fair value measurements related to financial assets
and liabilities as well as other assets and liabilities carried at fair value on
a recurring basis. The implementation of this authoritative guidance
and its amendments did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial
statements or results of operations.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on business
combinations. The guidance establishes principles and requirements
for how an acquirer recognizes and measures in its financial statements the
identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, the goodwill acquired and
any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree. This guidance also
establishes disclosure requirements to enable the evaluation of the nature and
financial effect of the business combination. This guidance is
effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008. On
January 1, 2009, we adopted the provisions of this guidance. The
implementation of this guidance did not have any impact on our consolidated
financial statements or results of operations. MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
The FASB
issued additional authoritative guidance on business combinations in March 2009,
specifically, for the initial recognition and measurement, subsequent
measurement, and disclosures of assets and liabilities arising from
contingencies in a business combination as well as for pre-existing contingent
consideration assumed as part of the business combination. This
guidance was effective as of January 1, 2009. The implementation
of this authoritative guidance did not have any impact on our consolidated
financial statements or results of operations. However, any business
combinations entered into in the future may impact our consolidated financial
statements as a result of the potential earnings volatility due to the changes
described above.
In May
2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on subsequent events, which
establishes the accounting for and disclosures of events that occur after the
balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or are available
to be issued. This guidance requires the disclosure of the date
through which an entity has evaluated subsequent events and the basis for that
date; that is, whether that date represents the date the financial statements
were issued or were available to be issued. This guidance was
effective beginning with our second quarter financial reporting and did not have
a material impact on our consolidated financial statements or results of
operations (see Note 13).
In April
2009, the FASB amended authoritative guidance on disclosures about the fair
value of financial instruments, which was effective for the Company on
June 30, 2009. The amended guidance requires a publicly traded
company to include disclosures about fair value of its financial instruments
whenever it issues summarized financial information for interim reporting
periods. In addition, the guidance requires an entity to disclose
either in the body or in the accompanying notes of its summarized financial
information the fair value of all financial instruments for which it is
practicable to estimate that value, whether recognized or not recognized in the
statement of financial position. The adoption of this amended
guidance did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements or
results of operations.
Recent
Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted
In
December 2008, the FASB amended authoritative guidance on retirement
benefits and provided guidance on an employer’s disclosure about plan assets of
a defined benefit pension or other postretirement plan. The amended
guidance is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15,
2009. We are currently evaluating the potential impact of this
amended guidance on our consolidated financial statements.
In
September 2009, the EITF reached a consensus related to revenue arrangements
with multiple deliverables. The consensus will be issued by the FASB
as an update to authoritative guidance for revenue recognition and will be
effective for the Company on January 1, 2011. The updated guidance will
revise how the estimated selling price of each deliverable in a multiple element
arrangement is determined when the deliverables do not have stand-alone
value. In addition, the revised guidance will require additional
disclosures about the methods and assumptions used to evaluate multiple element
arrangements and to identify the significant deliverables within those
arrangements. We are currently evaluating the potential impact of the
amended guidance on our consolidated financial statements or results of
operations. MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
Basic
earnings per share attributable to Marvel Entertainment, Inc. is computed by
dividing the net income attributable to Marvel Entertainment, Inc. for the period, attributable
to common stock, by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding
during the period. Diluted net earnings per share attributable to
Marvel Entertainment, Inc. is computed by dividing the net income attributable
to Marvel Entertainment, Inc. for the period by the weighted-average number of
common and potential common shares, if dilutive, outstanding during the
period. The dilutive effect of outstanding options and restricted
stock is reflected in diluted earnings per share attributable to Marvel
Entertainment, Inc. by application of the treasury stock method, which includes
consideration of stock-based compensation.
The total
number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2009 was
78,021,369, net of treasury shares and restricted stock; assuming the exercise
of all outstanding stock options (1,839,869) and the vesting of all outstanding
restricted shares (474,312), the total number outstanding would be
80,335,550. During the three and nine-month periods ended September
30, 2009, 2,750 and 391,831 shares of common stock, respectively, were issued
through stock option exercises.
Options
to purchase 0.1 million shares of common stock were not included in the
calculation of diluted net earnings per share attributable to Marvel
Entertainment, Inc. for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2009,
respectively, and 0.2 million and 0.7 million shares of common stock
were not included in the calculation of diluted net earnings per share
attributable to Marvel Entertainment, Inc. for the three and nine-month periods
ended September 30, 2008, because they were antidilutive.
Comprehensive
income includes all changes in equity during a period except those resulting
from the investments by, and distributions to, stockholders.
MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
Film
Facility
MVL Film
Finance LLC, a wholly owned bankruptcy-remote subsidiary of ours, maintains a
$525 million credit facility for producing theatrical motion pictures based on
certain of our characters. Our ability to borrow under the film
facility expires on September 1, 2012. We are required to repay all
borrowings under the film facility by September 1, 2014, subject to extension by
up to ten months under certain circumstances. The film facility’s
final expiration date is September 1, 2016, subject to extension by up to ten
months under certain circumstances. The expiration date and final
date for borrowings under the film facility occur sooner if the films produced
under the facility fail to meet certain defined performance
measures. The film facility consists of $465 million in revolving
senior bank debt and $60 million in mezzanine debt, which is subordinated to the
senior bank debt. During 2008, we repurchased, and are now holding,
all of the mezzanine debt related to the film facility.
Ambac
Assurance Corporation has insured repayment of the senior bank
debt. In exchange for the repayment insurance, we pay Ambac a fee
calculated as a percentage of used and unused senior bank debt, but in no event
less than $3.4 million per year. The weighted average interest rate
of our senior bank debt was 3.28% at September 30, 2009, inclusive of the
percentage fee owed to Ambac (without consideration of that fee’s
minimum). In addition, commitment fees on unused senior bank debt are
charged at the rate of 0.90% per annum, inclusive of the percentage fee owed to
Ambac (without consideration of that fee’s minimum).
Debt
service under the film facility must be paid from the films’ net collections,
rather than from any of our other sources of cash. The film facility
requires us to maintain certain interest and liquidity reserves to cover future
debt service payments in the event that the films’ net collections are not
sufficient to make such payments. As of September 30, 2009, total
reserves were $27.9 million, and are included in non-current restricted
cash.
The film
facility also requires us to fund a minimum of 33% of the budget of each film
distributed under our 2008 distribution agreement with Paramount. The
film facility will provide a maximum of 67% of the budget (reduced by the
proceeds of any third-party co-financing). During the first quarter
of 2009, we funded 33% of the Iron Man 2 budget, all of
which was spent, as of September 30, 2009 to fund production costs.
In the
first quarter of 2009, we amended the film facility to allow us, at our option,
to utilize a lower cost completion bond structure. In order to take
advantage of this structure, we funded into escrow approximately $31.5 million
for Iron Man 2 for the
duration of production. This amount (plus interest accrued) is
included in current restricted cash as of September 30, 2009.
Our
films’ net collections may only be used to service debt under the film facility,
fund production costs of other films produced under the film facility or pay
certain administrative costs of the film facility, and are therefore included in
restricted cash (see Note 7).
As of
September 30, 2009, we had $21.5 million of outstanding borrowings under the
film facility. MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
Corporate
Line of Credit
We
maintain a $100 million revolving line of credit with HSBC Bank USA, National
Association (the “HSBC Line of Credit”) with a sub-limit for the issuance of
letters of credit. The HSBC Line of Credit, as amended, expires on
March 31, 2011. Borrowings under the HSBC Line of Credit may be used
for working capital and other general corporate purposes and for repurchases of
our common stock. In March 2009, the HSBC Line of Credit was amended
and now provides for an unused commitment fee of 0.45% commencing April 1,
2009. The HSBC Line of Credit contains customary event-of-default
provisions and a default provision based on our market
capitalization. We continue to be in compliance with the covenants of
the facility, which include covenants related to net income, leverage and free
cash flow. The HSBC Line of Credit is secured by a lien on (a) our
accounts receivable, (b) our rights under our toy license with Hasbro and (c)
all of our treasury stock repurchased by us after November 9,
2005. Borrowings under the HSBC Line of Credit bear interest at
HSBC’s prime rate or, at our option, at LIBOR plus 1.25% per
annum. As of September 30, 2009, 32.1 million of our shares held in
treasury are pledged as collateral under the HSBC Line of Credit. As
of September 30, 2009, we had $1.1 million (related to a letter of credit)
outstanding under the HSBC Line of Credit.
Cash that
has been contractually restricted as to usage or withdrawal is included in the
caption “Restricted cash”. Restricted cash attributable to our Film
Production segment includes our net film collections, borrowings under the film
facility and any other funds designated to be used for film inventory costs, for
debt service, for various reserves required under the film facility and for
certain amounts required under our completion bond
arrangements. Restricted cash in the Film Production segment was
$73.3 million as of September 30, 2009 and $39.6 million as of December 31,
2008. Restricted cash not expected to be released within one year of
the balance sheet date and restricted cash designated to be used for film
inventory costs is classified as a non-current asset in the accompanying
condensed consolidated balance sheets.
Restricted
cash in the Licensing segment includes cash balances of the Joint Venture that
are not freely available to either Sony Pictures or to us until
distributed. Distributions are made no less frequently than
quarterly.
Authoritative
guidance on fair value measurements and disclosures defines fair value as the
price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in
an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit
price). The guidance classifies the inputs used to measure fair value
into the following hierarchy:
Level
1: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or
liabilities
Level
2: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or
liabilities, or unadjusted quoted prices for identical or similar assets or
liabilities in markets that are not active, or inputs other than quoted prices
that are observable for the asset or liability
Level 3:
Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability
We
endeavor to utilize the best available information in measuring fair
value. Financial assets and liabilities are classified in their
entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair
value measurement. The following table sets forth our assets measured
at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2009: MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
We are
exposed to market risks from changes in interest rates, which may adversely
affect our operating results and financial position. When deemed
appropriate, we minimize our risks from interest rate fluctuations using
derivative financial instruments. We use derivative financial
instruments to manage risk and not for trading or other speculative
purposes. We do not use leveraged derivative financial
instruments. The interest rate cap is valued using broker quotations,
or market transactions either in the listed or over-the counter
markets. This derivative instrument is therefore classified within
level 2. Gains and losses from changes in the fair value of the
interest rate cap are recorded within other income in the accompanying condensed
consolidated statements of income.
The
estimated fair value of certain of our financial instruments, including cash
equivalents, current portion of accounts receivable, accounts payable and
accrued expenses, approximate their carrying amounts due to their short-term
maturities. The non-current portion of accounts receivable has been
discounted to its net present value, which approximates fair
value. The carrying value of our film facility debt approximates its
fair value because the interest rates applicable to that debt are based on
floating rates identified by reference to market rates.
Non-Financial
Instruments
The majority of our non-financial
instruments, which include goodwill, inventories and fixed assets, are not
required to be carried at fair value on a recurring basis. However,
our goodwill is required to be evaluated for impairment annually, and all of our
non-financial instruments are required to be evaluated for impairment if certain
triggering events occur. An evaluation that results in asset
impairment would require that the non-financial instrument be recorded at the
lower of historical cost or its fair value.
We
account for film production costs in accordance with the guidance on
Entertainment-Films, which requires that upon the occurrence of an event or
change in circumstance that may indicate that the fair value of a film is less
than its unamortized costs, an entity should determine the fair value of the
film and write off the amount by which the unamortized capitalized costs exceed
the film’s fair value. Some of these events or changes in
circumstance include: (i) an adverse change in the expected performance of
a film prior to its release, (ii) actual costs substantially in excess of
budgeted costs, (iii) substantial delays in completion or release
schedules, (iv) changes in release plans, (v) insufficient funding or
resources to complete the film and to market it effectively and (vi) the
failure of actual performance subsequent to release to meet that which had been
expected prior to release. When required to determine the fair value
of our films, we estimate the timing of ultimate cash to be received and apply a
discounted cash flow methodology.
We
operate our businesses in three segments: Licensing, Publishing and Film
Production.
Licensing
Segment
Our
Licensing segment, which includes the operations of the Joint Venture, licenses
our characters for use in a wide variety of products and media, the most
significant of which are described below. MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
Consumer
Products. We license our characters for use in a wide variety
of consumer products, including toys, apparel, interactive games, electronics,
homewares, stationery, gifts and novelties, footwear, food and beverages and
collectibles.
Studio Licensing: Feature
Films. We have licensed some of our characters to major motion
picture studios for use in motion pictures. For example, we currently have a
license with Sony to produce motion pictures featuring the Spider-Man family of
characters. We also have outstanding licenses with studios for a
number of our other characters, including The Fantastic Four, X-Men (including
Wolverine), Daredevil/Elektra and Ghost Rider. Under these licenses,
we retain control over merchandising rights and retain more than 50% of
merchandising-based royalty revenue. We intend to self-produce,
rather than license, all future films based on our characters that have not been
licensed to third parties.
Studio Licensing: Television
Programs. We license our characters for use in television
programs. Several television shows based on our characters are in
various stages of development including animated programming based on Iron Man,
X-Men (including Wolverine), and Black Panther. Since January 2009,
the new animated series “Wolverine and the X-Men” has been airing on Nicktoons
Network in the United States and on various other international channels in
Canada, United Kingdom, Latin America, Europe, Australia, Asia Pacific, and the
Middle East. In addition, as part of our efforts to build demand for
our licensed consumer products, the Licensing segment has begun to self-produce
animated television programming featuring Marvel characters. By
controlling the content and distribution of self-produced animation, we hope to
increase our consumer products licensing activities more than is possible
through animation whose content and distribution is under the control of
animation licensees.
Studio Licensing: Made-for-DVD Animated Feature
Films. We have licensed some of our characters to an entity
controlled by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. to produce up to eight
feature-length animated films for distribution directly to the home video
market. To date, six of these titles have been distributed under this
arrangement.
Destination-Based
Entertainment. We license our characters for use at theme
parks, shopping malls and special events. For example, we have
licensed some of our characters for use at Marvel Super Hero Island, part of the
Islands of Adventure theme park at Universal Orlando in Orlando, Florida, and
for use in a Spider-Man attraction at the Universal Studios theme park in Osaka,
Japan. We have also licensed our characters for the development of
theme parks in South Korea and Dubai.
Promotions. We
license our characters for use in short-term promotions of other companies’
products and services.
Publications. Our
Licensing segment licenses our characters to publishers located outside the
United States for use in foreign-language comic books and trade paperbacks and
to publishers worldwide for novelizations and a range of coloring and activity
books.
Publishing
Segment
The
Publishing segment creates and publishes comic books and trade paperbacks
principally in North America. Marvel has been publishing comic books
since 1939 and has developed a roster of more than 5,000
characters. Our titles include Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four,
Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, the Avengers, and
Thor. In addition to revenues from the sale of comic books and trade
paperbacks, the Publishing segment generates revenues from sales of advertising
and subscriptions and from other activities, such as custom comics and digital
media. Our digital media activities have had a small but growing
impact on our Publishing segment revenues, mostly through online advertising and
digital comic subscription sales. We expect continued moderate growth
and diversification in Marvel digital media revenues as we continue to increase
our online presence. MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
Film
Production Segment
Until we
began producing our own films, our growth strategy was to increase exposure of
our characters by licensing them to third parties for development as movies and
television shows. The increased exposure creates revenue
opportunities for us through increased sales of toys and other licensed
merchandise. Our self-produced movies, the first two of which were
released in 2008, represent an expansion of that strategy that also increases
our level of control in developing and launching character
brands. Our self-produced movies also offer us an opportunity to
participate in the films’ financial performance to a greater extent than we
could as a licensor.
Our
self-produced films are financed primarily with our $525 million film
facility. The first two films produced by the Film Production segment
were Iron Man, which
was released on May 2, 2008, and The Incredible Hulk, which
was released on June 13, 2008. We are currently in post
production on one film, Iron
Man 2, scheduled to be released May 7, 2010, and we are in pre-production
on another film, Thor,
scheduled to be released May 20, 2011. In addition, we are developing
two other films, The First
Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers, scheduled to be
released on July 22, 2011 and May 4, 2012, respectively.
Set
forth below is certain operating information of our segments.
MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
In
connection with the 1999 sale of a subsidiary, we retained certain liabilities
related to the Fleer/Skybox International Retirement Plan, a defined benefit
pension plan for employees of that subsidiary (the “Fleer/Skybox
Plan”). This plan has been amended to freeze the accumulation of
benefits and to prohibit new participants.
Assumptions
used for the 2009 and 2008 expense include a discount rate of 5.62% and 5.88%,
and an expected rate of return on plan assets of 4.82% and 5.25%,
respectively.
At the
end of each interim period, we estimate our annual effective tax rate and apply
that rate to our ordinary quarterly earnings. The tax expense or
benefit related to each significant, unusual, or extraordinary item that will be
separately reported, or reported net of its related tax effect, is recognized in
the interim period in which it occurs. In addition, the effect of
changes in tax laws, rates or tax status is recognized in the interim period in
which the change occurs.
Estimation
of the annual effective tax rate at the end of each interim period requires
estimates of, among other things, the amount of our pre-tax income for the year,
what portion of our income will be earned and taxed in foreign jurisdictions,
what permanent and temporary differences we will record, and which of the
deferred tax assets generated in the current year we will
recover. Each of those estimates requires significant
judgment. These estimates used to compute the provision for income
taxes may change as new events occur, more experience is acquired, additional
information is obtained or as the tax environment changes. MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
Our
effective tax rates for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30,
2009 (38.6% and 37.6%, respectively) and for the three and nine-month periods
ended September 30, 2008 (36.4% and 37.6%, respectively) were higher than the
federal statutory rate due primarily to state and local taxes partially offset
by the benefit associated with the earnings of the Joint Venture, as further
described below. The three and nine-month periods ended September 30,
2009 also include a charge related to a change in the New York City tax law
enacted in the third quarter of 2009 and interest relating to certain proposed
IRS adjustments, as discussed below.
We are
not responsible for the income taxes related to the noncontrolling interest in
the Joint Venture’s earnings. The tax liability associated with the
noncontrolling interest in the Joint Venture’s earnings is therefore not
reported in our income tax expense, even though all of the Joint Venture’s
revenues and expenses are consolidated in our reported income before income tax
expense. Joint Venture earnings therefore have the effect of lowering
our effective tax rate. This effect is more pronounced in periods in
which Joint Venture earnings are higher relative to our other
earnings.
We retain
various state and local net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwards of $307.0
million, which will expire in various jurisdictions in the years 2009 through
2026. As of September 30, 2009, there is a valuation allowance of
$0.6 million against state NOL and capital loss carryforwards, as we believe it
is more likely than not that those assets will not be realized in the
future.
Our 2003
through 2006 federal income tax returns are currently under examination by the
Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). During the quarter ended June 30,
2009, the IRS proposed an adjustment to the amount of federal NOL carryforwards
that we utilized in the years under examination. We determined the
amount of available NOL carryforwards upon our emergence from bankruptcy in 1998
using a methodology consistent with our interpretation of then-current federal
tax law and IRS guidance available at the time. In 2003, the IRS
issued a regulation that prospectively required a different
methodology. The basis of the IRS position is that, in 1998, we
should have used a methodology similar to the approach of the 2003
regulation. If the IRS were to prevail in its position, federal NOL
carryforwards used in the examination period would be disallowed and we would
owe approximately $23 million in additional income tax and
interest. We firmly believe the methodology we employed to
calculate available NOL carryforwards from 1998 was appropriate and plan to
aggressively contest the proposed adjustment.
In
addition, during the quarter ended September 30, 2009, the IRS proposed certain
other adjustments, which are substantially timing in nature. Tax
expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 includes a charge for
interest relating to the proposed adjustments.
Unrecognized
tax benefits totaled $90.8 million and $57.0 million at September 30, 2009 and
December 31, 2008, respectively. The increase for the nine-months
ended September 30, 2009 was the result of: (i) tax positions we claimed during
that period in various jurisdictions in which we operate; and (ii) $29 million
related to proposed IRS tax adjustments for the 2003 through 2006 period that
are timing in nature and would be substantially recovered by December 31,
2009. The above liability for unrecognized tax benefits is reported
gross of this recoverable tax asset. The Company believes it is
reasonably possible that our balance of unrecognized tax benefits at September
30, 2009 could be reduced by as much as $34 million over the next twelve months
due to possible IRS settlements and the expiration of certain state and local
statutes of limitations. MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
Legal
Matters
Marvel,
its board of directors and Disney are named as defendants in purported class
action lawsuits brought by alleged Marvel stockholders challenging Marvel’s
proposed merger with Disney. The stockholder actions were filed in
the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (Michael Golombuski v. Marvel
Entertainment, Inc., et al., filed August 31, 2009 and Alan W. Meerow v. Marvel
Entertainment, Inc. et al., filed September 15, 2009) and in the
Delaware Court of Chancery (Christine Vlatos v. Sid Ganis, et
al., filed September 1, 2009; Paul W. Morand v. Morton F. Handel
et al., filed on September 8, 2009; and Port Authority of Allegheny County
Retirement and Disability Allowance Plan for Employees Represented by Local 85
of the Amalgamated Transit Union v. Isaac Perlmutter, et al., filed on
September 10, 2009). The stockholder actions generally allege,
among other things, that (i) each member of the Marvel board of directors
breached his fiduciary duties to Marvel and its stockholders by authorizing the
sale of Marvel to Disney, (ii) the merger does not maximize value to Marvel
stockholders, (iii) the defendants failed to provide stockholders with allegedly
material information related to the proposed transaction and (iv) Disney and
Marvel aided and abetted the breaches of fiduciary duty allegedly committed by
the members of the Marvel board of directors. The stockholder actions
seek class action certification and equitable relief, including judgments
enjoining the defendants from consummating the merger on the agreed-upon
terms. The two actions in the Supreme Court of the State of New York,
County of New York were consolidated on October 8, 2009 under the new caption
In re: Marvel Entertainment,
Inc. Shareholder Litigation. The Vlatos and Morand actions in the
Delaware Court of Chancery were consolidated on October 26, 2009 under the
new caption In re: Marvel
Entertainment, Inc. Shareholder Litigation. On October 9,
2009, the plaintiffs filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery a Notice and
Proposed Order of Dismissal without prejudice of the action entitled Port Authority of Allegheny County
Retirement and Disability Allowance Plan for Employees Represented by Local 85
of the Amalgamated Transit Union v. Isaac Perlmutter, et
al. We believe all claims asserted by the plaintiffs to be
without merit.
On
January 26, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Southern District
of New York, four purported shareholders of Stan Lee Media, Inc. (“SLM”),
individually and on behalf of all SLM shareholders, filed a derivative action
against several Marvel entities, Isaac Perlmutter (our President and Chief
Executive Officer), Avi Arad (a former officer and director), Stan Lee, Joan C.
Lee, Joan Lee and Arthur Lieberman. On April 28, 2009, two of the
original four plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, which supersedes the
original complaint and alleges only derivative claims on behalf of
SLM. The amended complaint eliminated all claims against Mr.
Perlmutter, Mr. Arad, Joan C. Lee and Joan Lee. The amended complaint
alleges that SLM is the owner of rights and property, including the Marvel name
and trademarks and rights in characters co-created by Mr. Lee while he was
employed by our predecessors (the “Intellectual Property”). The
plaintiffs allege that prior to the date Mr. Lee entered into a new employment
agreement with us in 1998, Mr. Lee transferred his interest in the Intellectual
Property to a predecessor of SLM. Mr. Lee has denied that he had any
ownership interest in any Marvel intellectual property and that any transfer of
those rights to SLM ever took place. The amended complaint alleges
claims against us for violations of section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, tortious
interference with a contract between Mr. Lee and an alleged predecessor of SLM,
aiding and abetting alleged breaches by Mr. Lee of fiduciary duties owed to SLM
and an accounting. The relief sought against us in the amended complaint
includes damages in an amount to be determined at trial, and the imposition of a
constructive trust on and an accounting for the profits derived from our
exploitation of our intellectual property. We believe all claims in
the amended complaint are without merit.
On
January 2, 2009, in the New York State Supreme Court, New York County, Marvel
and the Joint Venture filed separate actions against MGA Entertainment, Inc.
("MGA"). Those lawsuits alleged that MGA owed several million dollars
in unpaid royalties and had otherwise breached license agreements between the
parties. On or about March 2, 2009, MGA filed a separate action
against Marvel and Isaac Perlmutter and served counterclaims against the Joint
Venture, Marvel and Mr. Perlmutter. MGA's action and counterclaims
assert causes of action for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good
faith and fair dealing, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and intentional
infliction of economic harm. MGA is seeking damages in excess of $100
million. We believe all of MGA's claims in the actions are without
merit. MARVEL
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(continued)
September
30, 2009
(unaudited)
On March
30, 2007, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of
Illinois, Gary Friedrich and Gary Friedrich Enterprises, Inc. (“Friedrich”)
filed a lawsuit against us and numerous other defendants including Sony Pictures
Entertainment, Inc., Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Hasbro, Inc. and
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. That suit has been transferred to
the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges that
Friedrich is the owner of intellectual property rights in the character Ghost
Rider and that we and other defendants have exploited the Ghost Rider character
in a motion picture and merchandise without Friedrich’s
consent. Friedrich has asserted numerous claims including copyright
infringement, negligence, waste, state law misappropriation, conversion,
trespass to chattels, unjust enrichment, tortious interference with right of
publicity, and for an accounting. We believe Friedrich’s claims to be
without merit.
We are
also involved in various other legal proceedings and claims incident to the
normal conduct of our business. Although it is impossible to predict
the outcome of any legal proceeding and there can be no assurances, we believe
that our legal proceedings and claims, individually and in the aggregate, are
not likely to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results
of operations or cash flows.
We have
evaluated subsequent events through the filing of this Form 10-Q on November 3,
2009, and determined there have not been any events that have occurred that
would require adjustments to our consolidated financial statements or results of
operations. Forward-Looking
Statements
The
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for
forward-looking statements that Marvel or its representatives
make. Statements that are not statements of historical fact,
including comments about our business strategies and objectives, growth
prospects and future financial performance, are forward-looking
statements. The words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,”
“anticipate,” “guidance,” “forecast,” “plan,” “outlook” and similar expressions,
in filings with the SEC, in our press releases and in oral statements made by
our representatives, also identify forward-looking statements. The
forward-looking statements in this report speak only as of the date of this
report. We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the
statements are made, even if new information becomes available.
The
following risk factors, among others, could cause our actual results to differ
significantly from what is expressed in our forward-looking
statements:
The risk
factors above are discussed more fully in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008.
In
addition, our forward-looking statements relating to the merger described below
are subject to the risks described in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q, beginning on page 42. Management
Overview of Business Trends
Recent
Developments
Proposed Merger
with The Walt Disney Company. For information relating to our proposed
merger with The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”), please see the discussion under
the heading “Description of Business and Principles of Consolidation—Recent
Developments—Proposed Merger with The Walt Disney Company” in Note 2 to our
condensed consolidated financial statements, which discussion is incorporated
herein by reference.
General
We
operate in three integrated and complementary operating segments: Licensing,
Publishing and Film Production.
Licensing
Our
Licensing segment is responsible for the licensing, promotion and brand
management for all of our characters worldwide. We pursue a strategy,
where feasible, of concentrating our licensee relationships with fewer, larger
licensees who demonstrate the financial and merchandising capability to manage
our portfolio of both classic and movie properties. A key focus is
negotiating strong minimum guarantees while keeping royalty rates
competitive.
Another
strategy of the Licensing segment’s consumer products program is to create new
revenue opportunities by further segmenting our properties to appeal to new
demographic profiles. Initiatives such as Marvel Super Hero Squad,
Marvel Extreme, Marvel Heroes and Marvel Comics (the retro depiction of our
characters) have all helped the licensing business expand beyond its traditional
classic and event-driven properties.
Major
entertainment events play an important role in driving sales of our licensed
products. In 2008, our Licensing segment revenue reflected the
benefit from the release of our self-produced movies; Iron Man, which was released
on May 2, 2008, and The
Incredible Hulk, which was released on June 13, 2008. Our
full-year 2009 Licensing segment revenue will be lower than in 2008 as there is
only one major entertainment event in 2009, X-Men Origins: Wolverine,
domestically released May 1, 2009 by Twentieth Century Fox.
We
typically enter into multi-year merchandise license agreements that specify
minimum royalty payments and include a significant down payment upon
signing. We recognize license revenue when the earnings process is
complete, including, for instance, the determination that the credit-worthiness
of the licensee reasonably assures collectibility of any outstanding minimum
royalty payments. If the earnings process is complete with respect to
all required minimum royalty payments, then we record as revenue the present
value of those payments.
The
earnings process is not complete if, among other things, we have significant
continuing involvement under the license, we have placed restrictions on the
licensee’s ability to exploit the rights conveyed under the contract or we owe a
performance obligation to the licensee. In the case where we have
significant continuing involvement or where any restrictions remain on the
licensee’s rights (e.g., no sales of products based on a specific character
allowed until a future date), we recognize revenue as the licensee reports its
sales and corresponding royalty obligation to us. Where we have a
performance obligation, minimum royalty collections are not recognized until our
performance obligation has been satisfied. Minimum payments collected
in advance of recognition are recorded as deferred revenue. In any
case where we are unable to determine that the licensee is sufficiently
creditworthy, we recognize revenue only to the extent of cash
collections. When cumulative reported royalties exceed the minimum
royalty payments, the excess royalties are recorded as revenue when collected
and are referred to as “overages”. Publishing
The
Publishing segment is focused on strengthening its Super Hero graphic fiction
presence in its primary distribution channels such as the direct and mass
market, and expanding its reach to a broader demographic by providing all-ages
and new reader products in the book market and online. A variety of
Wolverine products were released in the second quarter of 2009 and distributed
around the X-Men Origins:
Wolverine film domestically released May 1, 2009 by Twentieth Century
Fox. We also released the first collection for The Stand in the first
quarter of 2009 and the third collection of the Dark Tower in July
2009. The first collections for the Ender’s Game and the Ender’s Shadow series were
released in the third quarter of 2009. In 2008, Marvel launched a
major comic book crossover series, Secret Invasion, which
involves many of the Marvel characters and features tie-ins to many other Marvel
publications. Secret Invasion ran from
April through December 2008. The third volume of the Dark Tower series and the
first volume of The
Stand series were released in October 2008. The momentum of
these efforts was followed up with the Dark Reign and Ultimatum publishing events
that began in December 2008 and will continue through the remainder of
2009. Due in part to the economic recession and tightening of credit
markets, we believe that Publishing segment revenue in 2009 will be lower than
in 2008 as customers’ advertising budgets and consumer spending remain
constrained.
The
Publishing segment has continued its development and investment in digital
media, resulting in increased content on our Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited
service, where we currently have over 7,000 previously published Marvel comic
books available for viewing online in a proprietary viewer. We have
also added more content to our website, including videos, casual games, news and
character biographies. We also maintain a separate website, www.marvelkids.com,
featuring Marvel characters and content developed for children ages
6-11. Our digital media content is also distributed through
arrangements with third-party websites such as YouTube, Xbox Live and iTunes. We expect
continued moderate growth and diversification in digital media revenues as we
continue to increase our online presence. However, our expectations
for digital media revenue growth, planned in large part to be achieved through
increased advertising revenues, have been reduced because of the current
economic climate, which have had a negative impact on industry-wide online
advertising.
Film Production
In 2008,
we released our first two self-produced films: Iron Man on May 2 and The Incredible Hulk on June
13. We are currently in postproduction on one film, Iron Man 2, scheduled to be
released May 7, 2010, and we are in pre-production on another film, Thor, scheduled to be
released May 20, 2011. In addition, we are developing two other
films, The First Avenger:
Captain America and The
Avengers, scheduled to be released on July 22, 2011 and May 4, 2012,
respectively. After the release of each of our films, we begin to
recognize revenue and amortize our film inventory, as described
below.
Film
Inventory
In
general, we are responsible for all of the costs of developing and producing our
feature films. The film’s distributor is responsible for the
out-of-pocket costs, charges and expenses (including contingent compensation and
residual costs, to a defined limit) incurred in the distribution, manufacturing,
printing and advertising, marketing, publicizing and promotion of the film in
all media (referred to in the aggregate as the distributor’s
costs). The distributor’s costs are not included in film
inventory.
We
capitalize all direct film production costs, such as labor costs, visual effects
and set construction. Those capitalized costs, along with capitalized
production overhead and capitalized interest costs, appear on our balance sheet
as an asset called film inventory. Production overhead includes
allocable costs (including salary benefits and stock compensation) of
individuals or departments with exclusive or significant responsibility for the
production of films. Capitalization of production overhead and
interest costs commences upon completion of the requirements for funding the
production under the film facility and ceases upon completion of the
production.
The
capitalized costs of projects in development consist primarily of script
development and producer costs. In the event that a film does not
begin pre-production within three years from the time of the first capitalized
transaction, or if an earlier decision is made to abandon the project, all
capitalized costs related to these projects are expensed. Once a
film is released, using the individual-film-forecast computation method, the
amount of film inventory relating to that film is amortized and included in each
period’s costs of revenue in the proportion that the film’s revenue during the
period bears to the film’s then-estimated total revenue, net of the
distributor’s costs, over a period not to exceed ten years (ultimate
revenues). Estimates of ultimate revenues for each film are regularly
reviewed and revised as necessary based on the latest available
information. Reductions in those revenue estimates could result in
the write-off, or the acceleration of the amortization, of film inventory in
that reporting period; increases in those revenue estimates could result in
reduced amortization in that period.
As of
September 30, 2009, our Film Production segment had unamortized film inventory
of $217.4 million, primarily for our film Iron Man 2, which began
production in the first quarter of 2009, and Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, which
were completed and released during 2008.
Film
Revenue
The
amount of revenue recognized from our films in any given period depends on the
timing, accuracy and sufficiency of the information we receive from our
distributors.
After
remitting to us five percent of the film’s gross receipts, the distributor is
entitled to retain a fee based upon the film’s gross receipts and to recoup all
of its costs on a film-by-film basis prior to our receiving any additional share
of film receipts. Any of the distributor’s costs for a film that are
not recouped against receipts for that film are borne by the
distributor. Our share of the film’s receipts, as described above, is
recognized as revenue when reported due to us by the distributor. We
received minimum guarantees from local distributors in five territories in
connection with the release of Iron Man and The Incredible
Hulk. In those territories, revenue was recognized when the
film became available for exhibition in the respective media.
Revenue
from the sale of home video units is recognized when our distributors report as
due to us the home video sale proceeds that they have collected from
retailers. We provide for future mark-downs and returns of home
entertainment product at the time the related revenue is recognized, using
estimates. Our estimates are calculated by analyzing a combination of
our distributors’ historical returns and mark-down practices, our distributors’
estimates of returns of our home video units, current economic trends,
projections of consumer demand for our home video units and point-of-sale data
available from retailers. We periodically review our estimates using
the latest information available.
Revenue
from both free and pay television licensing agreements is recognized at the time
the production is made available for exhibition in those markets.
Film
Facility
The film
facility enables us to independently finance the development and production
costs of up to ten feature films, including films that may feature the following
Marvel characters, whose theatrical film rights are pledged as collateral to
secure the film facility.
Also
included as collateral for the film facility are the theatrical film rights to
many of the supporting characters that would be most closely associated with the
featured characters and character families. For example, the theatrical film
rights to The Incredible Hulk’s girlfriend, Betty Ross, and his nemesis,
Abomination, are both pledged as collateral to the film facility.
We are
currently in pre-production of a movie based on the character Thor and expect to
obtain the consent of the film facility lenders to finance and produce that film
through the film facility, in which case we will pledge the theatrical film
rights to Thor and various related characters as additional collateral to secure
the film facility.
While
theatrical films featuring the characters listed above may be financed and
produced by us only through the film facility, we retain all other rights
associated with those characters. In addition, we may continue to license our
other characters for movie productions by third parties, obtain financing to
produce movies based on those other characters ourselves or with others or, with
the consent of the film facility lenders, finance and produce films based on
those other characters through the film facility.
We fund,
from working capital and other sources, the incremental overhead expenses and
costs of developing each film to the stage at which the conditions for an
initial borrowing for the film are met under the film facility. If
the film’s initial funding conditions are met under the film facility, we are
able to borrow up to 67% of our budgeted production costs including an amount
equal to our incremental overhead expenses related to that film, but not
exceeding 2% of the film’s budget. If the initial funding conditions
are not met, we will be unable to borrow these amounts under the film
facility. Beginning with our third film (Iron Man 2), upon meeting the
film’s initial funding conditions, we are required to fund 33% of that film’s
budget using non-film production operating cash. For Iron Man 2, this amount was
funded and was all spent on this production as of September 30,
2009. In 2008, we entered into a studio distribution agreement with
Paramount Pictures Corporation under which Paramount agreed to distribute five
of our films (extendable to six under certain circumstances) and to provide
advertising and marketing efforts for each film.
Critical
Accounting Policies
Recent
Accounting Standards Adopted in 2009
In
June 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance (the “Codification”),
which was launched on July 1, 2009 and became the single source of
authoritative nongovernmental GAAP, superseding existing FASB, AICPA, Emerging
Issues Task Force (EITF) and related literature. The Codification
eliminates the GAAP hierarchy and establishes one level of authoritative
GAAP. All other literature is considered
non-authoritative. This Codification is effective for financial
statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after September 15,
2009. The implementation of this guidance changed how we disclose
authoritative accounting pronouncements in the notes to our consolidated
financial statements.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on noncontrolling
interests. The guidance clarifies that a noncontrolling interest in a
subsidiary is an ownership interest in the consolidated entity that should be
reported as a component of equity in the consolidated financial statements and
requires disclosure, on the face of the consolidated statements of income, of
the amounts of consolidated net income attributable to the company and to the
noncontrolling interests. This guidance is effective for fiscal years
beginning on or after December 15, 2008. On January 1, 2009, we
adopted the provisions of this guidance. The implementation of this
guidance did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements
or results of operations. The 2008 financial information has been
revised so that the basis of presentation is consistent with the 2009 financial
information.
In
February 2008, the FASB issued amendments to authoritative guidance on fair
value measurements, which deferred the effective date of authoritative guidance
on fair value measurements for all nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial
liabilities to fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2008. On
January 1, 2009, we adopted these amendments to this authoritative
guidance. On January 1, 2008, we adopted the provisions of this
authoritative guidance on fair value measurements related to financial assets
and liabilities as well as other assets and liabilities carried at fair value on
a recurring basis. The implementation of this authoritative guidance
and its amendments did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial
statements or results of operations. In
December 2007, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on business
combinations. The guidance establishes principles and requirements
for how an acquirer recognizes and measures in its financial statements the
identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, the goodwill acquired and
any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree. This guidance also
establishes disclosure requirements to enable the evaluation of the nature and
financial effect of the business combination. This guidance is
effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008. On
January 1, 2009, we adopted this guidance. The implementation of
this guidance did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements
or results of operations.
The FASB
issued additional authoritative guidance on business combinations in March 2009,
specifically, for the initial recognition and measurement, subsequent
measurement, and disclosures of assets and liabilities arising from
contingencies in a business combination as well as for pre-existing contingent
consideration assumed as part of the business combination. This
guidance was effective as of January 1, 2009. The implementation
of this authoritative guidance did not have any impact on our consolidated
financial statements or results of operations. However, any business
combinations entered into in the future may impact our consolidated financial
statements as a result of the potential earnings volatility due to the changes
described above.
In May
2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on subsequent events, which
establishes the accounting for and disclosures of events that occur after the
balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or are available
to be issued. This guidance requires the disclosure of the date
through which an entity has evaluated subsequent events and the basis for that
date; that is, whether that date represents the date the financial statements
were issued or were available to be issued. This guidance was
effective beginning with our second quarter financial reporting and did not have
a material impact on our consolidated financial statements or results of
operations (see Note 13).
In April
2009, the FASB amended authoritative guidance on disclosures about the fair
value of financial instruments, which was effective for the Company on
June 30, 2009. The amended guidance requires a publicly traded
company to include disclosures about fair value of its financial instruments
whenever it issues summarized financial information for interim reporting
periods. In addition, the guidance requires an entity to disclose
either in the body or in the accompanying notes of its summarized financial
information the fair value of all financial instruments for which it is
practicable to estimate that value, whether recognized or not recognized in the
statement of financial position. The adoption of this amended
guidance did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements or
results of operations.
Recent
Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted
In
December 2008, the FASB amended authoritative guidance on retirement
benefits and provided guidance on an employer’s disclosure about plan assets of
a defined benefit pension or other postretirement plan. The amended
guidance is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15,
2009. We are currently evaluating the potential impact of this
amended guidance on our consolidated financial statements.
In
September 2009, the EITF reached a consensus related to revenue arrangements
with multiple deliverables. The consensus will be issued by the FASB
as an update to authoritative guidance for revenue recognition and will be
effective for the Company on January 1, 2011. The updated guidance will
revise how the estimated selling price of each deliverable in a multiple element
arrangement is determined when the deliverables do not have stand-alone
value. In addition, the revised guidance will require additional
disclosures about the methods and assumptions used to evaluate multiple element
arrangements and to identify the significant deliverables within those
arrangements. We are currently evaluating the potential impact of the
amended guidance on our consolidated financial statements or results of
operations. Three-month period ended
September 30, 2009 compared with the three-month period ended September 30,
2008
Net
Sales
Our
consolidated net sales of $105.7 million for the third quarter of 2009 were
$76.8 million lower than net sales in the third quarter of 2008, primarily
reflecting decreases in the Film Production segment and Licensing segment net
sales.
Licensing
segment net sales decreased $9.2 million during the third quarter of 2009,
reflecting a $6.7 million decrease in foreign licensing revenue and a $5.8
million decrease in Joint Venture revenue (to $2.4 million) related to the 2007
release of Spider-Man
3. These decreases were primarily due to the recognition in
the third quarter of 2008 of merchandise licensing revenue related to the Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk feature
films, as well as a decrease in revenue from the Spider-Man merchandising joint
venture. The third quarter of 2009 Licensing segment net sales
included $6.3 million of royalty and service fee revenues from Hasbro compared
with $12.0 million included in the third quarter of 2008, a period that
benefited from the Summer 2008 releases of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk
movies. These decreases were partially offset by a $1.9 million
increase in Studio licensing revenue, primarily associated with the X-men movie
properties.
Net sales
from the Publishing segment decreased $2.0 million to $32.0 million for the
three months ended September 30, 2009, primarily relating to a $2.7 million
decrease in custom publishing sales and a $0.5 million decrease in advertising
sales as compared to the same period in 2008. These decreases were
offset by a $1.6 million increase in our sales of trade paperbacks to the book
market, as a result of an increase in new titles released during the current
quarter.
Net sales
from the Film Production segment, related to Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, decreased $65.4 million
to $24.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009. Net
sales from the Film Production segment in the third quarter of 2009 primarily
reflect the recognition of revenues associated with the international pay TV
window for Iron Man and
the domestic pay TV window for The Incredible Hulk as well
as contributions from DVD sales for both Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and, in
the third quarter of 2008, reflected theatrical box office revenues from the
theatrical release of these films, which were both released in the second
quarter of 2008, and the opening of the home video window in certain
international pre-sold territories for Iron Man.
Net sales
included in 2008 All Other consisted of our then remaining direct toy
manufacturing operations, which we exited in early 2008. Cost
of Revenues
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||