Liberty Media (NASDAQ:LINTA), whose portfolio of assets across the media and entertainment industries are tracked by the stocks Liberty SiriusXM Group, Formula One Group, and Braves Group, reported its first quarter earnings before the opening bell on Friday.
Formula One Group, in which the Liberty SiriusXM Group has an approximate 0.4% intergroup interest as of April 30, reported revenue of $381 million, compared to $360 million in the year-ago quarter.
Liberty Media (NASDAQ:LINTA) acquired Formula One in 2017 in a deal worth approximately $8 billion. Today, Liberty Media operates Formula One as a subsidiary, overseeing its commercial operations and managing its relationships with teams, sponsors, and broadcasters.
The company stated that the growth in revenue was due to higher media rights, sponsorship, and race promotion revenue, with F1 TV subscription revenue seeing continued growth.
Investors may wonder why the 9% rise is significantly lower than the reopening-fueled 100% growth seen in the previous term, but Liberty Media stressed that the F1 season is off to a "fantastic" start, with the Australian Grand Prix having hosted 445,000 fans, and the majority of the remaining calendar is sold out.
The company said it is hopeful that the F1 platform will continue to attract commercial partners, with a number of new and expanded sponsors already announced this season.
Other assets in Liberty's portfolio posted differing performances.
SiriusXM, in which Liberty holds an 82.9% stake as of April 25, reported a profit of $233 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.06 for 1Q, down from $309 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue was also down 2% year-over-year at $2.14 billion.
The Braves Group, in which the Formula One Group has an approximately 11% intergroup interest and the Liberty SiriusXM Group has an approximate 2.9% intergroup interest as of April 30, posted a 35% increase in revenue to $31 million, up from $23 million in the year-ago quarter. However, its operating loss increased by 16% to $43 million from $37 million in 1Q 2022.
Liberty Media attributed the increase in revenue during 1Q to more spring training home games and additional special events held at the ballpark compared to the year-ago quarter.
The company also highlighted its planned split off Atlanta Braves Holding Inc and reclassification of its tracking stocks to create the Liberty Live Group tracking stock is expected by the end of the second quarter.
Following the release of Liberty Media’s results, shares of Liberty SiriusXM Group (LSXMA) were up 5.6% at US$28.56, Formula One Group (FWONK) was up 5.35% at US$74.29, while the Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) was down 1.2% at US$39.52.
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