Thunderbird Entertainment is generating rising revenue as demand for content skyrockets

Produces award-winning, high-quality content with a track record of robust viewership 21 television programs currently in various stages of production Repeatable and scalable business model with proven earnings history Experienced management team in the media and entertainment sector What Thunderbird Entertainment does: Thunderbird Entertainment Group (CVE:TBRD) (OTCMKTS:THBRF) is building global entertainment brands for the world’s biggest broadcasters and streaming giants. The Vancouver-based global multi-platform entertainment company produces award-winning scripted, unscripted and animated programming for the world’s leading digital platforms, as well as for Canadian and international broadcasters such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney. Its underlying ethos is to make the world a better place, according to its CEO Jennifer Twiner McCarron. The company has three divisions: Kids and Family, Factual and Scripted. Thunderbird also has a division based in the United Kingdom dedicated to establishing partnerships with production companies to develop the company’s intellectual property. The group is behind popular titles such as ‘The Last Kids on Earth,’ ‘$ave My Reno,’ ‘Highway Thru Hell’ and the award-winning CBC sitcom ‘Kim’s Convenience.’ Thunderbird’s executive team and board of directors reads like a who’s who of the Canadian entertainment industry. Twiner McCarron is a creative at heart, an Emmy-award winner and one of the leading women in the animation sector. The company's board is stacked with names like film mogul and philanthropist Frank Giustra and Paul Sparkes, a former executive at CTVglobemedia (now Bell Media). With around 47 million shares outstanding and a C$59 million market capitalization, the Canadian company is poised to take on entertainment industry heavyweights like Lionsgate and Entertainment One as consumers search for new content. How is it doing: In May, Thunderbird reported financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended March 31, 2021, including revenue of C$37.7 million, up 27% from C$29.6 million in the same quarter of 2020. Adjusted EBITDA was $7.4 million, an 8% increase from C$500,000 a year earlier. Thunderbird attributed the bump to an increase in production services in its kids and family division, as well as a rise in licensing and distribution revenue thanks to having more shows this year.  Production services revenue increased 52% year-over-year to C$19.4 million. This revenue consists primarily of animation production services, which experienced continued growth. In the quarter, the company recognized revenue from three episodes of The Last Kids on Earth, 13 episodes of Kim’s Convenience Season 5, and 40 episodes of three factual series (Heavy Rescue: 401 Season 5, Mud Mountain Haulers Season 1, and $ave My Reno Season 4).  Earlier this year, the company announced the creation of a new Global Distribution and Consumer Products Division, with industry veteran Richard Goldsmith joining Thunderbird and Atomic Cartoons, the company’s Kids and Family Division, to lead the new venture The company said that in this newly-created role as president of Global Distribution and Consumer Products, Goldsmith will oversee worldwide content distribution and the development of innovative consumer products and experiences that expand and enrich audience engagement across all Thunderbird properties. In other personnel news, Thunderbird announced in April that its chief financial officer Barb Harwood was named one of Canada’s best executives by the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business. She was among 10 winners in the finance category.  In May, the company promoted Sarah Nathanson to the position of chief operating officer and corporate secretary for all Thunderbird divisions as part of an effort to consolidate its senior leadership team as the company continues its rapid growth in both Canada and the US. She had been serving as general counsel, a role which the company said she will continue to hold.  Inflection points: Atomic Cartoons developing a video game based on The Last Kids On Earth in conjunction with Outright Games, scheduled to be released in 2021 Continued build-out of content library across all three verticals Invested funds in developing 25 additional titles What the broker says: In a recent note to clients, Canaccord Genuity analysts upped its price target for Thunderbird to $5.00 from S3.25 and reiterated a 'Buy' rating on the stock following the company’s fiscal second-quarter results. The broker's analysts noted that the media company’s C$28 million in quarterly revenue was “well ahead” of its own C$19.3 million forecast — the fourth straight quarter Thunderbird has beaten expectations and its largest margin yet. EPS was C$0.03, ahead of Canaccord’s projected $C0. “Thunderbird has a very deep pipeline. In our view, the results over the last four quarters highlight the solid underlying funnel of production opportunities at TBRD, and the company’s growing profile in the industry. ... We believe the company is seeing particular success with some of its key kids franchises including Last Kids on Earth (for Netflix), Hello Ninja (Netflix) as well as some of the service work being done on The Lego Star Wars specials for Disney+ and Trolls: Trollstopia for Peacock,” the analysts said. Thunderbird is also set up well for potential acquisitions, they added. “The company’s net cash position stood at $18 million as of Q2/21, which we believe could be used toward making acquisitions to spur further growth. In particular, we believe the company is looking at the potential for international expansion, which we view as prudent given the demand from streaming platforms,” the analysts concluded, What the boss says: “Thunderbird continues to grow rapidly across all of our divisions, which is reflected in the strong Q3 results,” the company's CEO Jennifer Twiner McCarron said in a recent statement. “This performance can be attributed directly to the incredible work of our talented teams — in addition to the continued demand we are seeing for Thunderbird’s award-winning, quality content.”  She added: “We are doubling down on our commitment to making a positive difference in the world, and we are proud to have recently won the BC Business ‘Business of Good Award’ for Diversity and Inclusion. Not only is this work a major component of our core mission and values, but it also reflects our commitment to helping advance issues of gender representation and the inclusion of BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ communities.” Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel