NEW YORK, NY – As Playboy Enterprises prepares to unveil its earnings for fourth-quarter 2005 tomorrow, a number of stock analysts are predicting a bright future for the legendary adult entertainment company.Despite continued losses in the publishing division, long the primary breadwinner in Playboy’s arsenal, Playboy’s stock gained 13% in 2005, driven primarily by strong revenues in its licensing and video-on-demand divisions. Playboy announced a VOD licensing deal with cable giant Comcast in October, and has been both licensing products and opening brick-and-mortar boutiques internationally.
Although licensing reportedly makes up less than 10 percent of the company’s overall revenue, it’s an extremely profitable division, as the costs incurred are negligible. In a January report, the company showed licensing to account for only 8.2% of sales, but over 26% of the operating profit over the last 3 quarters. During that same period, the publishing division of Playboy generated 32% of sales, but operated at a loss throughout that time.
All of this adds up to additional licensing deals being at the core of Playboy’s future. One analyst projects that the Playboy Club and Casino, which is set to open this summer inside the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, will generate about $5 million in sales for Playboy – and that upwards of $4 million from that total could be profit.
“This is a fantastic deal,” David Bank, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets told CNNMoney.com. “There are virtually no operating expenses for Playboy. They are just giving out their name.”
While experts expect the struggles for Playboy’s publishing division to continue, they point to smart moves Playboy has made in debt restructuring and the promising future of its new media ventures, including online and mobile content delivery, as factors that will offset the sluggish advertising and subscription revenues from their magazines.
