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World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc.
(NASDAQ: WWFE)
1241 East Main Street, Stamford 06902
Chairman: Vincent K. McMahon
President and CEO:
Linda E. McMahon
Revenues (FYE April 30, 1999): $251,474,000
Net Income (FYE April 30, 1999):
$56,030,000
Market Capitalization:
$1,116.23 million
Employees: 295
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Business New Haven
6/12/2000
By: Kristine Hansen
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You won't find its Chyna displayed in your local gift shop; nor will you find Stone Cold Steve Austin or the Rock. But these are among the more than 100 professional performers who showcase their talents with World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc.
For more than 20 years the WWF has been providing “sports entertainment.” Formerly operating under the name Titan Sports Inc., the company changed its name to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. prior to its initial public offering last year. The company operates in two principal segments: live/televised entertainment, pay-per-view programming and the license/sale of branded merchandise.
Among the company's offerings include 12 annual pay-per-view events such as WrestleMania (March, which also was the company's first pay-per-view event, premiering in 1985), Judgment Day (May), Fully Loaded (July) and Armageddon (December). Television programming includes its flagship Raw Is War show, which recently received one of its highest ratings during television's May sweeps, Sunday Night Heat, WWF Metal and WWF Jakked, plus the new WWF SmackDown! The company publishes two monthly magazines: RAW Magazine and WWF Magazine. Also for the 1999 fiscal year the company held some 200 live events in about 100 North American cities, including New Haven.
Over the past three years the company has focused its growth efforts on developing new talent, expanding story lines, expanding its audience with more television programming along with marketing its pay-per-view offerings. Additional efforts include the distribution of mail-order catalogues, home videos, licensing and sale of branded merchandise as well as developing an Internet presence (www.wwf.com).
The efforts have proved positive. Recently the company announced that its shows sell out in minutes in major arenas around the country. A record for the company was 4.5 minutes to sell out tickets at the Fleet Center in Boston for the live, pay-per-view event King of the Ring. The Allstate Arena in Chicago was sold out in just 18 minutes for a Raw Is War live television broadcast and it took a scant 11 minutes to sell out Los Angeles' Staples Center for another live broadcast.
Revenues doubled from 1998's $126 million to $251.5 million in 1999. Net income increased more than six-fold, from $8.5 million in 1998 to $56 million for the 1999 year. For the first nine months ended January 28, revenues were reported at $262.9 million, which exceeded total revenues for all of fiscal 1999.
Net income for the nine-month period was $48.3 million (79 cents per diluted share) compared to $34.3 million (61 cents per diluted share) for the comparable 1999 nine-month period. For fiscal year 2000, analysts estimate 83 cents per share and for fiscal year 2001 estimates come in at 79 cents per share.
Last October the company sold ten million shares of Class A common stock for $17 per share in an initial public offering yielding proceeds of more than $179 million. Currently the stock is trading in the same range, closing June 7 at $17.25. The offering further strengthened the company's balance sheet, bringing stockholder equity to $245 million (on January 28) and asset size to $349 million. It must be noted that at least 97 percent of the voting power will remain with principal Vincent McMahon due to his ownership of Class B common stock.
In recent news, the WWF announced the formation of a new professional football league, the XFL, scheduled for launch next February. The league will be jointly owned and operated by WWFE and NBC. The company also announced the purchase, from its licensee, of the WWF New York Times Square Entertainment Complex for approximately $23.6 million.
On the international front, the company has signed an agreement with British Sky Broadcasting allowing increased airtime and a distribution agreement with the UK's Channel 4 Television Corp. Other distribution agreements have been signed with Canal Plus (France) and with Premier World of Germany.
The WWF has a powerhouse of performers - maybe management, too. The company recently announced that Electronic Media magazine had named WWFE President and CEO Linda McMahon (wife of Vince) as one of several executives to watch this year. And Business Week recently awarded WWFE the No. 3 spot on its list of top 100 small companies.
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