Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp (MSGE) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Thank you for standing by and welcome to the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation fiscal 2024 third-quarter earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session.

早安.感謝您的耐心等待並歡迎參加麥迪遜廣場花園娛樂公司 2024 財年第三季財報電話會議。此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。演講者發言後，將進行問答環節。

I would now like to turn the call over to Ari Danes, Senior Vice President Investor Relations and Treasury. Please go ahead.

我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係和財務部高級副總裁 Ari Danes。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning and welcome to MSG Entertainment's fiscal 2024 third-quarter earnings conference call. On today's call Mike Grau, our EVP and Chief Financial Officer will provide an update on the company's operations and review our financial results for the quarter. After our prepared remarks, we will open up the call for questions. During Q&A, we will also be joined by Phil D'Ambrosio, our EVP and Treasurer.

謝謝。早安，歡迎參加 MSG Entertainment 2024 財年第三季財報電話會議。在今天的電話會議上，我們的執行副總裁兼財務長 Mike Grau 將提供公司營運的最新資訊並審查我們本季的財務表現。在我們準備好發言後，我們將開始提問。在問答環節，我們的執行副總裁兼財務長 Phil D'Ambrosio 也將出席。

If you do not have a copy of today's earnings release, it is available in the Investors section of our corporate website. Please take note of the following. Today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the company's filings with the SEC for a discussion of risks and uncertainties. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements that may be discussed during this call.

如果您沒有今天的收益發布副本，可以在我們公司網站的投資者部分找到。請注意以下事項。今天的討論可能包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。任何此類前瞻性陳述都不是對未來績效或結果的保證，並且涉及可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中的結果有重大差異的風險和不確定性。請參閱該公司向 SEC 提交的文件，以了解有關風險和不確定性的討論。本公司不承擔更新本次電話會議期間可能討論的任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

On pages 5 and 6 of today's earnings release, we provide consolidated statements of operations and a reconciliation of operating income to adjusted operating income or AOI, a non-GAAP financial measure.

在今日財報的第 5 頁和第 6 頁上，我們提供了合併營運報表以及營運收入與調整後營運收入或 AOI（一種非 GAAP 財務指標）的調整表。

And with that, I'll now turn the call over to Mike.

現在，我將把電話轉給麥克。

Thank you, Ari and good morning everyone. I'd like to start the call by saying how pleased I am to be joining you today. MSG Entertainment has a really strong portfolio of assets and a great team, and I feel privileged and excited to be working with everyone to ensure the company delivers on our key business objectives. I'm certainly very grateful for the opportunity and also very optimistic about our future prospects.

謝謝你，阿里，大家早安。在通話開始時，我想說我很高興今天能加入你們的行列。MSG Entertainment 擁有非常強大的資產組合和一支優秀的團隊，我很榮幸也很高興能與大家合作，確保公司實現我們的關鍵業務目標。我當然非常感謝有這個機會，也對我們未來的前景非常樂觀。

Along those lines, there are less than two months left in our first full year as a standalone public company and thanks to our strong results, we remain on track to deliver robust growth for fiscal 2024. In fact, a strong operating performance that led us to increase our full-year revenue and AOI guidance in February has continued, and we are now updating our financial forecast for fiscal 2024, including an increase to our expected AOI range for the year, which I will discuss in more detail shortly.

沿著這些思路，我們作為一家獨立上市公司的第一個全年只剩下不到兩個月的時間，由於我們強勁的業績，我們仍然有望在 2024 財年實現強勁增長。事實上，強勁的經營業績導致我們在 2 月繼續提高了全年營收和 AOI 指引，我們現在正在更新 2024 財年的財務預測，包括上調本年度的預期 AOI 範圍，其中我將很快進行更詳細的討論。

Two main areas of driving this financial performance. First, the Christmas Spectacular 90th Holiday Season Run, which ended in January delivered yet another year of record-setting revenues for the production. And second, our booking business, has continued to grow and remains set to achieve a low double-digit percentage increase in events for fiscal 2024. This includes contract growth across all of our venues with the Garden and Radio City, both headed towards setting new records for a number of concerts in the year.

推動財務表現的兩個主要領域。首先，於 1 月結束的第 90 屆聖誕盛典假日季連續劇又創造了一年創紀錄的製作收入。其次，我們的預訂業務持續成長，並預計在 2024 財年實現較低的兩位數百分比成長。這包括我們與花園和無線電城的所有場館的合約成長，這兩個場館都有望在今年的多場音樂會中創下新紀錄。

The strength of our financial results has enabled us to repurchase a substantial amount of our Class A shares for this fiscal year. And as we look ahead, we remain confident that our business is positioned to continue generating long-term value for our shareholders.

我們強勁的財務表現使我們能夠在本財年回購大量 A 類股票。展望未來，我們仍然相信我們的業務能夠繼續為股東創造長期價值。

Let's now review some third-quarter operational highlights. During the quarter, our portfolio of venues hosted more than 1.5 million guests at over 200 live events. A majority of these events were driven by our bookings business, which delivered a double-digit percent increase in total concerts versus the prior year quarter. A key contributor to this increase was a strong multi-night comedy schedule. This included a combined 55 nights across Radio City, The Beacon, and The Chicago Theater from such acts as John Oliver and Seth Meyers, Tina Fey and Amy Pohler, Jerry Seinfeld, and Ali Wong among others.

現在讓我們回顧一下第三季的一些營運亮點。本季度，我們的場館組合在 200 多場現場活動中接待了超過 150 萬名賓客。這些活動大部分是由我們的預訂業務推動的，與去年同期相比，音樂會總數實現了兩位數的百分比增長。這一增長的一個關鍵因素是強大的多晚喜劇時間表。其中包括約翰·奧利佛(John Oliver) 和賽斯·邁耶斯(Seth Meyers)、蒂娜·菲(Tina Fey) 和艾米·波勒(Amy Pohler)、傑裡·宋飛(Jerry Seinfeld) 和黃阿麗(Ali Wong) 等演員在無線電城、燈塔和芝加哥劇院總共55 個夜晚的演出。

And as the volume of events at our venues continues to increase, we are pleased to see it matched by strong demand. For the third quarter, the majority of concerts at our venues were once again sold out. Sales of single night suites increased significantly, and per-cap spending at concerts on food, beverage, and merchandise again increased on a year-over-year basis.

隨著我們場館的活動量不斷增加，我們很高興看到與之相匹配的強勁需求。第三季度，我們場館的大部分音樂會再次售空。單晚套房銷售量大幅成長，音樂會的人均食品、飲料和商品支出較去年同期再次成長。

Also during the third quarter, the Knicks and Rangers continued their 2023, 2024 regular seasons at the Garden. This included five more Knicks home games in the current year as compared to the prior-year quarter. In addition to these extra matchups, Knicks and Rangers games followed the same trend we saw in our other live events with increases in average per game revenues for food, beverage, and merchandise sales.

同樣在第三季度，尼克隊和流浪者隊在花園球場繼續他們的 2023、2024 年常規賽。這包括尼克隊今年比去年同期多了五場主場比賽。除了這些額外的比賽之外，尼克隊和流浪者隊的比賽也遵循了我們在其他現場賽事中看到的相同趨勢，食品、飲料和商品銷售的平均每場比賽收入都有所增加。

We also saw continued demand for our Premium Hospitality offerings. As we have previously discussed, the Garden introduced two new suite products this fiscal year, an event level suite and a luxury event level club space. We already noted that we secured a multi-year agreement for the Event Level Suite earlier this year. And to add to that, we are now close to selling out the event level club Space and have started adding more seats to help match the interest that we are seeing for this premium hospitality drive.

我們也看到對我們的高級酒店產品的持續需求。正如我們之前所討論的，花園在本財年推出了兩種新的套房產品，即活動級套房和豪華活動級俱樂部空間。我們已經注意到，我們在今年早些時候就事件級別套件達成了多年協議。除此之外，我們現在即將售罄活動等級的俱樂部空間，並已開始增加更多座位，以幫助滿足我們對這項優質飯店活動的興趣。

Before we talk about our financial results, a couple of points regarding presentation and comparability; first, I'd like to note that we have revised our definition of adjusted operating income as it relates to the arena license fees with MSG Sports. We are no longer removing the non-cash portion of the arena license fees in our reconciliation of operating income to adjusted operating income, which is reflected in the financial results we reported today for all periods presented as well as in our financial guidance.

在我們討論我們的財務表現之前，先談幾點有關表述和可比性的問題；首先，我想指出的是，我們修改了調整後營業收入的定義，因為它與 MSG Sports 的競技場許可費有關。我們不再在營業收入與調整後營業收入的調節中刪除競技場許可費的非現金部分，這反映在我們今天報告的所有期間的財務業績以及我們的財務指導中。

You may recall that the Arena License fees are recognized on a straight-line basis, over the life of the 35-year agreements, which equates to approximately $68 million a year. For fiscal 2024, this $68 million will be comprised of approximately $43 million of cash revenue and $25 million of non-cash revenue. We will continue to disclose the non-cash component of the arena license fees on a quarterly basis.

您可能還記得，Arena 許可費在 35 年協議有效期內按直線法確認，相當於每年約 6800 萬美元。2024 財年，這 6,800 萬美元將包括約 4,300 萬美元的現金收入和 2,500 萬美元的非現金收入。我們將繼續按季度披露競技場許可費的非現金部分。

And secondly, because the company completed its spin-off from Sphere Entertainment in April of last year, our fiscal third-quarter results are not fully comparable on a year-over-year basis. Results for the prior-year quarter, are based on carve-out accounting and do not reflect all of the SG&A expenses we would have incurred had we been a standalone public company.

其次，由於該公司於去年 4 月完成了從 Sphere Entertainment 的分拆，因此我們第三財季的業績與去年同期相比並不完全可比。上一季度的業績是基於剝離會計，並不反映如果我們是一家獨立的上市公司，我們可能會產生的所有銷售、管理和行政費用。

Turning now to our financial results, for the fiscal 2024 third quarter, we reported revenues of approximately $228 million, an increase of 13% as compared to the prior-year period. This reflected growth across our three revenue categories: entertainment offerings; food, beverage, and merchandise, and arena license fees. Revenues from entertainment offerings increased primarily due to higher revenues from concerts and suite license fees partially offset by the absence of the NCAA East Regional Tournament which took place at the Garden in the prior-year quarter.

現在轉向我們的財務業績，2024 財年第三季我們的營收約為 2.28 億美元，比上年同期成長 13%。這反映了我們三個收入類別的成長：娛樂產品；食品、飲料和商品以及競技場許可費。娛樂產品收入的成長主要是由於音樂會和套房許可費收入的增加，部分抵消了去年季度在花園舉行的 NCAA 東部地區錦標賽的缺席。

Higher food and beverage revenues were primarily due to an increase in the number of concerts held at our venues as well as the impact of five more Knicks games at the Garden during the quarter. This was partially offset by lower per concept food and beverage revenues, which reflects a mix shift to more concerts at our theaters during the current-year quarter. And the increase in Arena License fees reflects the impact of five additional Knicks games in the quarter as compared to the prior-year period.

餐飲收入增加主要是由於我們場館舉辦的音樂會數量增加以及本季度尼克斯隊在花園球場舉行的五場比賽的影響。這部分被每個概念食品和飲料收入的下降所抵消，這反映出本季度我們的劇院向更多音樂會的混合轉變。競技場許可費的增加反映了尼克隊本季比去年同期增加了五場比賽的影響。

Third-quarter adjusted operating income of $38.5 million decreased by $11.6 million as compared to the prior quarter. These AOI results include $13.2 million of non-cash arena license fees in the current-year quarter as compared to $12.1 million in the prior-year period. The decrease in AOI primarily reflects higher SG&A expenses. And as I mentioned earlier, third-quarter SG&A expenses are not fully comparable on a year-over-year basis.

第三季調整後營業收入為 3,850 萬美元，比上一季減少 1,160 萬美元。這些 AOI 結果包括本季 1,320 萬美元的非現金競技場許可費，去年同期為 1,210 萬美元。AOI 的下降主要反映了 SG&A 費用的增加。正如我之前提到的，第三季的銷售、管理及行政費用與去年同期相比並不完全可比。

Moving on to our fiscal 2024 outlook, given the positive momentum in our business, we are updating our guidance for fiscal 2024. We now expect revenues of between $940 million and $950 million versus our prior range of between $930 million and $950 million. The midpoint of this updated range reflects 11% revenue growth versus fiscal 2023. We also expect operating income for the year of between $100 million and $110 million versus $95 million to $105 million previously. And adjusted operating income is now expected to be between $200 million and $210 million. This compares to our previous range of $195 million to $205 million with both prior and updated guidance having been adjusted to no longer remove the $25 million non-cash portion of the arena license fees.

展望 2024 財年展望，鑑於我們業務的正面勢頭，我們正在更新 2024 財年的指引。我們現在預計收入在 9.4 億美元到 9.5 億美元之間，而之前的範圍是 9.3 億美元到 9.5 億美元。此更新範圍的中點反映了與 2023 財年相比營收成長 11%。我們也預計今年的營業收入將在 1 億至 1.1 億美元之間，而此前為 9,500 萬至 1.05 億美元。調整後的營業收入目前預計在 2 億至 2.1 億美元之間。相較之下，我們先前的範圍為 1.95 億美元至 2.05 億美元，先前和更新後的指引均已調整，不再取消競技場許可費中 2,500 萬美元的非現金部分。

Turning to our balance sheet. As of March 31, we had approximately $28 million of unrestricted cash. In addition, our debt balance was approximately $630 million consisting of a single-term loan facility with mandatory quarterly principal repayments of approximately $4 million per quarter.

轉向我們的資產負債表。截至 3 月 31 日，我們擁有約 2,800 萬美元的非限制性現金。此外，我們的債務餘額約為 6.3 億美元，其中包括單期貸款融資，每季強制償還本金約 400 萬美元。

Looking ahead, we remain focused on our dual capital allocation priorities of opportunistically returning capital to shareholders and paying down debt. As a reminder, since our spin-off last year, we have repurchased approximately $140 million or about 10% of our outstanding Class A shares. We continue to have $110 million remaining under our current buyback authorization.

展望未來，我們仍專注於雙重資本配置優先事項，即機會性地向股東返還資本和償還債務。提醒一下，自去年分拆以來，我們已經回購了約 1.4 億美元，約 10% 的已發行 A 類股票。目前的回購授權仍剩餘 1.1 億美元。

In addition, subsequent to quarter end and through the end of April, we sold approximately 1.6 million shares in Townsquare Media for net proceeds of approximately $15.6 million as we continue to build our cash balance back up following our share repurchase and debt paydown activity earlier this fiscal year.

此外，在季度末和四月底，我們出售了大約 160 萬股 Townsquare Media 股票，淨收益約為 1,560 萬美元，因為我們在今年早些時候的股票回購和債務償還活動之後繼續建立現金餘額。年度。

In summary, we had another quarter that reflected the strength of our assets and robust demand for our business. And as we near the end of our first full year as a standalone company, we are continuing to offer consumers unforgettable experiences while delivering attractive growth for fiscal 2024.

總之，我們的另一個季度反映了我們的資產實力和對我們業務的強勁需求。隨著我們作為獨立公司的第一個全年即將結束，我們將繼續為消費者提供難忘的體驗，同時在 2024 財年實現有吸引力的成長。

With that, I will now turn the call back over to Ari.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉回給阿里。

Thank you, Mike. Operator, can we open up the call for questions?

謝謝你，麥克。接線員，我們可以打開提問電話嗎？

We will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instruction) Stephen Laszczyk, Goldman Sachs.

我們現在開始問答環節。（操作員指示）Stephen Laszczyk，高盛。

Just to clarify on the AOI guidance, is it correct for us to be interpreting the revision on a like-for-like basis on your prior way of reporting as a move from $170 million to $180 million to $175 million to $185 million, so that would be a $5 million revision higher at the midpoint? And then fundamentally, just thinking ahead on Christmas Spectacular, it sounds like demand for live entertainment remains strong. I'd be curious for your updated thoughts on the opportunity to increase show count versus the opportunity to increase price or sell-through both this year and beyond for that property?

只是為了澄清 AOI 指南，我們將您先前的報告方式的修訂解釋為從 1.7 億美元到 1.8 億美元到 1.75 億美元到 1.85 億美元，這樣是否正確？ 中點修正值會高出 500 萬美元嗎？從根本上來說，只要提前考慮聖誕盛會，聽起來對現場娛樂的需求仍然強勁。我很好奇您對今年及以後增加演出數量的機會與提高價格或售出率的機會的最新想法？

Before I answer, I just want to quickly apologize to the audience. I know we had some technical glitches at the top of the call that forced us to stop probably 15 minutes later than scheduled. So we certainly apologize for any inconvenience, and we'll get that ironed out going forward.

在我回答之前，我只想快速向觀眾道歉。我知道我們在通話開始時遇到了一些技術故障，迫使我們比預定時間晚了 15 分鐘才停止。因此，對於造成您的任何不便，我們深表歉意，並且我們將繼續解決這個問題。

As for your questions, Steve, so on AOI guidance, your interpretation is absolutely correct. We've redefined AOI. We no longer make an adjustment for the non-cash portion of arena license fees, which for this year is about $25 million. So you're right, you take -- the previous guidance was $170 million to $180 million. You bump it up by $5 million is $175 million to $185 million. That's what's happening on an apples-to-apples basis. And then you add $25 million to the upper and lower bounds to get to the guidance we discussed, which was the $200 million to $210 million.

至於你的問題，史蒂夫，關於 AOI 指導，你的解釋是絕對正確的。我們重新定義了 AOI。我們不再對競技場許可費的非現金部分進行調整，今年約為 2500 萬美元。所以你是對的，之前的指導是 1.7 億至 1.8 億美元。如果你增加 500 萬美元，那就是 1.75 億美元到 1.85 億美元。這就是同類基礎上正在發生的事情。然後將 2500 萬美元添加到上限和下限，以獲得我們討論的指導，即 2 億至 2.1 億美元。

As to your second question, on the Christmas show, we see a lot of runway actually on both fronts. In terms of number of shows, to reiterate the calendar '23 season show, we went out with 185 shows. And based on demand, we did add eight shows, and so we did 193 shows. For the upcoming show, that's about six months away, we have released 197 shows for sales, and we do have the ability to add additional shows around the edges to the extent that's specified by demand.

至於你的第二個問題，在聖誕節秀上，我們實際上在兩個方面都看到了很多跑道。就演出數量而言，重申 23 季演出日曆，我們共舉辦了 185 場。根據需求，我們確實增加了 8 個節目，所以我們做了 193 個節目。對於即將舉行的演出，距離大約六個月的時間，我們已經發布了 197 個演出供銷售，並且我們確實有能力在需求指定的範圍內添加更多演出。

I'll also mention right now, the advanced sales pacing is pretty encouraging. Right now, our sales of Christmas shows tickets versus the same time last year were up about 35% in terms of gross revenue. So that encompasses both volume and price. It's a relatively small sample size because we're not actively promoting or marketing the show yet, nevertheless, kind of an encouraging trend. And so that's where we stand in terms of number of shows.

現在還要提一下，先進的銷售節奏非常令人鼓舞。目前，我們的聖誕演出門票銷售與去年同期相比，總收入成長了約 35%。這包括數量和價格。這是一個相對較小的樣本量，因為我們還沒有積極宣傳或行銷該節目，儘管如此，這是一個令人鼓舞的趨勢。這就是我們在演出數量方面的情況。

In terms of ticket pricing and sell-through, I mean, that's almost a 2a and 2b, right, two different dynamics. In terms of sell-through, we did about a 90% sell-through for the Christmas show season just ended. That was up from mid-80s the year prior. We have in the past done as many as 5 percentage points or more higher than even the 90% that we just realized this past season. So we certainly think there's runway there for additional growth and profitability.

就門票定價和售票率而言，我的意思是，這幾乎是 2a 和 2b，對吧，兩種不同的動態。就銷售率而言，我們在剛結束的聖誕節秀季的銷售率約為 90%。這比前一年的 80 年代中期有所上升。我們過去的表現比我們上個賽季剛剛實現的 90% 高出 5 個百分點或更多。因此，我們當然認為那裡有額外的成長和獲利能力。

Ticket yield tends to grow every year. That's sort of the nature of that thing. And '23 was our highest ticket yield ever. Having said that, still a pretty healthy discount to what a comparable Broadway show might cost in the same time horizon. So that, coupled with the success we've had with dynamic pricing leads us to be very optimistic about additional runway on ticket yield as well. So we think we can grow the Christmas Spectacular on all of the fronts you mentioned, number shows, ticket pricing, and sell-through.

門票收益每年呈現成長趨勢。這就是那件事的本質。23 年是我們有史以來最高的門票收益率。話雖如此，與同一時間範圍內同類百老匯演出的價格相比，這仍然是一個相當健康的折扣。因此，加上我們在動態定價方面取得的成功，我們對門票收益率的額外成長也非常樂觀。因此，我們認為我們可以在您提到的所有方面發展聖誕盛會，包括演出、票價和售票率。

And then maybe one more, if I could on margin. In the past, I think you've called out some one-time margin headwinds you're facing this year. As we move past your fiscal '24 and some of these come off, I’m curious how you're thinking about the opportunity for margin expansion and maybe some of the drivers in '25 and beyond.

如果可以的話，也許還有一個。過去，我認為您已經指出了今年面臨的一些一次性利潤逆風。當我們度過 24 財年之後，其中一些目標將會實現，我很好奇您如何考慮 25 財年及以後的利潤擴張機會以及一些驅動因素。

Sure. So in '24, as we discussed, we're on track to deliver very robust growth in terms of revenues but as well as some margin expansion. I'm going to steer away largely on this call from getting very specific as to fiscal year '25. We're still very much in the early innings of our budget process, and that's something we'd be more likely to address in more detail on our year-end earnings call which will be somewhere in the neighborhood of early August.

當然。因此，正如我們所討論的，在 24 年，我們預計在收入方面實現非常強勁的成長，並實現一定程度的利潤率擴張。在這次電話會議上，我將避免對 25 財年進行非常具體的討論。我們仍處於預算流程的早期階段，我們更有可能在八月初的年終收益電話會議上更詳細地討論這個問題。

But taking a step back and looking at this over the longer term, we see margin opportunities in a lot of areas in our business. On the bookings side, we still think we have opportunity to increase venue utilization. We've had a lot of success in '24 in growing per event profitability and have reason to believe we can sustain that trend through '25 and beyond.

但退後一步，從長遠來看，我們在業務的許多領域都看到了利潤機會。在預訂方面，我們仍然認為我們有機會提高場地利用率。我們在 24 年在提高每場活動的盈利能力方面取得了很大的成功，並且有理由相信我們可以在 25 年及以後維持這一趨勢。

In terms of the Christmas show, we just talked about it, but I would highlight the sell-through and the ticket price yield really dropped straight down to the bottom line. So that's very margin accretive to the extent we make progress on those fronts. And then some of our ancillary but very meaningful revenue stream sponsorship and signage and premium suites, very high-margin revenue streams and again runway for growth in both of these.

就聖誕節演出而言，我們剛剛討論過，但我要強調的是售票率和票價收益率確實直接下降到了底線。因此，只要我們在這些方面取得進展，利潤就會大幅增加。然後是我們的一些輔助但非常有意義的收入流贊助、標誌和高級套房，非常高利潤的收入流以及這兩者的成長跑道。

In terms of sponsorship, we're entering a year in fiscal '25 and beyond where we'll see more in renewal activity. Fiscal '24 was relatively quiet in that regard. And at renewals, we often have opportunities to price up the sponsorship deals or better yet even upsize them. We also have the OBG relationship, which we're really starting to gain some traction there. And we really have some really nice unique assets that we can add to that inventory as well.

在贊助方面，我們即將進入 25 財年及以後的一年，我們將看到更多的續約活動。24 財年在這方面相對平靜。在續約時，我們經常有機會提高贊助協議的價格，甚至更好，甚至擴大贊助協議的規模。我們也與 OBG 建立了關係，我們確實開始在這方面獲得一些關注。我們確實擁有一些非常好的獨特資產，我們也可以將它們添加到該庫存中。

So also, to reasons to believe we can grow sponsorship revenue -- sponsorship and signage revenues going forward, which is very margin accretive. And likewise, on the premium front, we talked in some of our scripted comments about the success we've had in adding new suites and club space in '24, and we think additional opportunities exist on that front as well.

因此，我們也有理由相信我們可以增加贊助收入——未來的贊助和標牌收入，這會增加利潤。同樣，在高端方面，我們在一些書面評論中談到了我們在 24 年增加新套房和俱樂部空間方面取得的成功，我們認為在這方面也存在其他機會。

And last point I would mention would be on the expense side. We think our infrastructure is such that we can scale the business, get a lot of operating leverage. We don't think we necessarily need to add a lot of OpEx in order to support some of these growth initiatives that we're talking about. So we see a lot of opportunity over the long haul for margin expansion.

我要提到的最後一點是費用方面。我們認為我們的基礎設施使我們能夠擴展業務，獲得大量的營運槓桿。我們認為我們不一定需要增加大量營運支出來支持我們正在討論的一些成長計劃。因此，從長遠來看，我們看到了許多利潤擴張的機會。

Daniel Duran, Morgan Stanley.

丹尼爾‧杜蘭，摩根士丹利。

You mentioned that your bookings business has grown low double digits in fiscal '24. And I wanted to know if at this point you had any sense of what that would look like for fiscal year '25. And on top of that, if you have seen any softening of per-caps or consumer spending as we've seen in other larger consumer businesses like McDonald's or Starbucks?

您提到您的預訂業務在 2024 財年實現了兩位數的低成長。我想知道此時您是否對 25 財年的情況有任何了解。最重要的是，您是否看到人均消費或消費者支出出現疲軟，就像我們在麥當勞或星巴克等其他大型消費企業中看到的那樣？

In terms of bookings, I think you have to look at that really in two parts. I think the arena and the theaters are slightly different animals in that regard. With the arena, we've talked historically and still is the case, the booking window tends to be about six to nine months out. So we do have enhanced visibility there.

在預訂方面，我認為你必須分成兩部分來看待。我認為競技場和劇院在這方面略有不同。對於競技場，我們過去曾討論過，現在仍然如此，預訂窗口往往需要大約六到九個月的時間。所以我們確實提高了那裡的知名度。

As we look at fiscal '25 and the number of shows we have booked now versus the same point a year ago for fiscal '24, I would say we’re up mid single digits for the full year '25. And if I were to look at just the first half of '25, probably up more like low double digits in terms of number of events. So pretty encouraged by the current trends in terms of bookings on the arena.

當我們查看 25 財年以及我們現在預訂的演出數量與一年前 24 財年的同一點時，我想說，我們 25 財年全年的增幅為中個位數。如果我只看 25 年上半年，就賽事數量而言，可能會出現低兩位數的成長。目前競技場預訂的趨勢非常令人鼓舞。

On the theaters, the booking window is a little shorter three to six months. So the pipeline is a little less developed, and the visibility is not as good. Nevertheless, if we look at it the same way, we are up high single digits versus the prior year in terms of events booked at the theaters at this point in time. So look, we're coming off what will be a record year in fiscal '24 in many respects as to event volume. We’re still pacing very nicely versus that record year.

在戲院，預訂窗口要短一些，為三到六個月。所以管道不太發達，能見度也不太好。然而，如果我們以同樣的方式看待它，就此時在影院預訂的活動而言，我們比前一年增加了高個位數。因此，24 財年的活動量在許多方面都將創下紀錄。與創紀錄的一年相比，我們的步伐仍然非常好。

In regards to your second question, in terms of softening of consumer spending and demand, and you referenced McDonald's and Starbucks, we're not really seeing that. We see that on a couple of different data points that would support that. Most of our shows continue to sell out.

關於你的第二個問題，就消費者支出和需求的疲軟而言，你提到了麥當勞和星巴克，我們並沒有真正看到這一點。我們在幾個不同的數據點上看到了這一點。我們的大多數演出繼續售空。

For our fourth-quarter shows, we're pacing ahead of the prior year in terms of our sell-through percentages versus where we were again same point last year. We still have a lot of acts that are adding additional shows because of demand. So in terms of events and tickets, the demand is very healthy, which supports what we're seeing in the live experience sector in general both here and amongst our peers.

對於我們的第四季度展會，我們的售貨率與去年相同點相比，領先去年。由於需求，我們仍然有很多表演正在增加額外的演出。因此，就活動和門票而言，需求非常健康，這支持了我們在現場體驗領域以及同行中所看到的情況。

In terms of the per cap spending on food and beverage and merchandise, we are up low single digits versus the prior year for concerts. That's actually most notable would be arena, which is where the biggest opportunity is. The per cap spending of the arena outpaces the theaters for a variety reasons, and we're seeing even more robust growth there.

就食品、飲料和商品的人均支出而言，音樂會的人均支出比去年增加了較低的個位數。實際上最值得注意的是競技場，這是最大的機會。由於多種原因，競技場的人均支出超過了劇院，而且我們看到那裡的成長更為強勁。

So we're not really seeing a softening demand average. I would speculate that we enjoy certain tailwinds that I think maybe McDonald's and Starbucks don't in terms of again the burgeoning popularity of live experiences and the continued return of New York City tourism from the pandemic. So by virtue of that, we are not seeing that kind of softening of demand.

因此，我們並沒有真正看到平均需求疲軟。我推測，我們享受了某些順風車，我認為麥當勞和星巴克可能不會享受到這種順風車，因為現場體驗的迅速普及以及紐約市旅遊業從大流行中持續復甦。因此，我們並沒有看到這種需求的疲軟。

Peter Henderson, Bank of America.

彼得‧亨德森，美國銀行。

Just wondering if you can help us think through the size of the potential benefit from extended run for both the Knicks and Rangers in the playoffs? And then also, just how much or how deep of a run for both teams is already contemplated in your guidance?

只是想知道你是否可以幫助我們思考延長跑動對尼克隊和流浪者隊在季後賽的潛在好處有多大？另外，您的指導中已經考慮了兩支球隊的跑動程度或深度？

Appreciate it. So in terms of the benefit of an extended playoff run for the Knicks and Rangers, arena licensees as I think you're aware are fixed, but there are certainly variable revenue streams that we participate in and share with our partners at sports. I'm talking about things like food and beverage, merchandise, single events, suite sales. So each event is incremental in that regard. As well as on a more macro basis, I think the team's success can drive attendance and renewals on a go-forward basis.

欣賞它。因此，就尼克隊和流浪者隊延長季後賽的好處而言，我想您知道，競技場授權商是固定的，但我們參與並與體育合作夥伴分享的收入來源肯定是可變的。我說的是食品和飲料、商品、單一活動、套房銷售等。因此，每個事件在這方面都是漸進的。從更宏觀的角度來看，我認為團隊的成功可以進一步推動上座率和續約率。

So our interests are very much aligned with the Knicks and Rangers in that regard. I mean, look we're a New York-based company, we're a New York-centric company, what's good for New York is going to be good for us over the longer haul. As well as in terms of short-term economics, we do enjoy those variable incremental revenue streams.

因此，在這方面我們的利益與尼克隊和流浪者隊非常一致。我的意思是，我們是一家總部位於紐約的公司，我們是一家以紐約為中心的公司，對紐約有利的事情從長遠來看也會對我們有利。就短期經濟而言，我們確實享受這些可變的增量收入流。

The flip side of that coin would be on the booking side. That's something we've become pretty experienced and adept at in terms of managing potential conflicts, working with the league, working with artists, and optimizing scheduling. I think this week is a great example of that, right? We're just coming off a run of four consecutive days of home playoff games. And tonight, we'll have Billy Joel at the Garden. So that's just one data point to show how we've managed to enhance flexibility around that.

硬幣的反面是預訂面。在管理潛在衝突、與聯盟合作、與藝術家合作以及優化日程安排方面，我們變得非常有經驗和擅長。我認為本週就是一個很好的例子，對吧？我們剛結束連續四天的主場季後賽。今晚，比利喬爾將在花園裡表演。因此，這只是一個數據點，可以展示我們如何設法增強這一點的靈活性。

So you see that the Knicks and Rangers go on an extended run, and we're all hopeful and optimistic that that will be the case. There could be a small subset of shows at risk and by at risk, I mean at risk of being pushed into fiscal '25. And we've actually managed to hone that down to the point where the number of shows in question is really around low single digits.

所以你會看到尼克隊和流浪者隊繼續保持領先，我們都對這種情況充滿希望和樂觀。可能會有一小部分節目面臨風險，我的意思是面臨被推遲到 25 財年的風險。事實上，我們已經成功地將這一點降低到了相關節目數量實際上在低個位數左右的程度。

As your second question, I'm not going to get specific on what's baked into our internal forecasts in terms of number of runs. I'll just say that our guidance encompasses -- I mean, the range of our guidance encompasses all these types of scenarios as far as how far the Knicks and Rangers go out. We would not change guidance for any of those outcomes.

作為你的第二個問題，我不會具體說明我們內部預測中運行次數的具體內容。我只想說，我們的指導涵蓋了——我的意思是，我們的指導範圍涵蓋了所有這些類型的場景，就尼克斯隊和流浪者隊的表現而言。我們不會改變對任何這些結果的指導。

David Karnovsky, JPMorgan.

大衛卡諾夫斯基，摩根大通。

Hey, maybe just following up on that last point. I'm curious, how many days in general does the arena keep on hold when it does its planning process? I mean, on hold for the playoffs. And what is the optionality to look at on a short-term basis if those gains are in play recognizing this is less of an issue this year? And then following up on capital allocation, you noted the share authorization. I wanted to zero in on what circumstances would lead you to cash a restarted buyback?

嘿，也許只是跟進最後一點。我很好奇，競技場在進行規劃過程時一般會擱置多少天？我的意思是，季後賽暫停。如果這些收益正在發揮作用，並且意識到今年這不再是一個問題，那麼短期內值得考慮的選擇是什麼？然後在資本配置方面，您注意到了股份授權。我想將什麼情況歸零，導致您兌現重新啟動的回購？

Sure. So thank you, David for the questions. What I'm going to do is, I'm going to take your first question and then I'm going to ask Phil D'Ambrosio, our Treasurer who is with us, to address your question on capital allocation. In terms of how many days we keep on hold, I'm probably not going to get into specifics other than to say, we generally have a one-and-a-half, two-month window which is a playoff window for both hockey and basketball where we're again managing it in the manner I described earlier.

當然。謝謝大衛提出的問題。我要做的是，我將回答你的第一個問題，然後我將請與我們在一起的財務主管菲爾·丹布羅西奧（Phil D'Ambrosio）回答你關於資本配置的問題。至於我們保持多少天，我可能不會透露具體細節，只是說，我們通常有一個半兩個月的窗口，這是兩個曲棍球的季後賽窗口在籃球方面，我們再次以我之前描述的方式進行管理。

We continue to book acts. There's certain language in the contracts for acts at this time, day and date subject to change that kind of thing. We remain in constant contact with the league, with the sports teams, with these acts in order to manage. And again, I feel like we've done a really solid job in that the bookings team has become very adept at maximizing utilization during this window which can be challenging at times. But again, done a really nice job and we don't really have too many shows at risk as I alluded to earlier.

我們繼續預訂演出。合約中對於此時、當天和日期的行為有特定的語言，可能會發生變化。我們與聯盟、運動團隊保持持續聯繫，以便對這些行為進行管理。再說一次，我覺得我們做得非常紮實，預訂團隊已經非常擅長在這個有時可能具有挑戰性的窗口期間最大化利用率。但同樣，我們做得非常好，正如我之前提到的，我們並沒有太多的演出面臨風險。

You also asked about the ability to replace shows. I agree with you. That feels less relevant this year as both teams seem to be doing well, knock on wood. It depends on the type of the orders what the schedule is. It needs to be an artist that can sell out in a short period of time.

您也詢問了更換節目的能力。我同意你的看法。今年感覺不太重要，因為兩隊似乎都做得很好，敲木頭。這取決於訂單的類型以及時間表。它需要是一個可以在短時間內售罄的藝術家。

There's a narrow pool of artists who could probably satisfy those criteria. It's possible. And I don't know that it's probable, but it's certainly possible to book an event to sense something opened up unexpectedly.

能夠滿足這些標準的藝術家人數很少。這是可能的。我不知道這是否有可能，但肯定有可能預訂一個活動來感受意外發生的事情。

And with that, I'd like to defer to Phil if you could address the question on capital allocation.

說到這裡，如果你能解決資本配置問題，我想聽聽菲爾的意見。

Thanks Mike. Hi, David. So our capital allocation priorities remain unchanged. We have two. The first is opportunistically returning capital to our shareholders. And the second is debt paydown. Again, since our spinoff last April, we've repurchased approximately 140 million of our Class A shares outstanding, which represents about 10% of those Class A shares outstanding. And we have remaining authorization for repurchases of $110 million. So on a go-forward basis, we will continue to opportunistically seek attractive opportunities to return capital to shareholders.

謝謝邁克。嗨，大衛。因此，我們的資本配置重點保持不變。我們有兩個。首先是機會主義地向股東返還資本。第二是償還債務。同樣，自去年 4 月分拆以來，我們已經回購了約 1.4 億股已發行 A 類股票，約佔已發行 A 類股票的 10%。我們還有 1.1 億美元的剩餘回購授權。因此，展望未來，我們將繼續機會主義地尋找有吸引力的機會，向股東返還資本。

Turning to debt paydown. As Mike noted, our debt balance at the end of March is almost $630 million. And as we mentioned last quarter on our earnings call in early February and the December quarter, we paid down the revolver completely. So on a go-forward basis, in terms of debt paydown, we will simply continue to pay the quarterly amortization on our term loan of $4 million per quarter, but we're not planning to pay down any more debt beyond that.

轉向債務償還。正如麥克指出的那樣，截至 3 月底，我們的債務餘額接近 6.3 億美元。正如我們在上個季度 2 月初的財報電話會議和 12 月季度中提到的那樣，我們完全還清了左輪手槍的債務。因此，在未來的基礎上，就債務償還而言，我們將繼續支付每季 400 萬美元定期貸款的季度攤銷，但我們不打算償還除此之外的任何更多債務。

So when you think about leverage as the company continues to grow and to generate more AOI, the company will naturally delever. And when you keep in mind a substantial level of activity on the repurchase front over these last 11 months, currently we're focused on digesting that, meaning we're going to build our cash balance up again.

因此，當你考慮隨著公司不斷發展並產生更多 AOI 的槓桿作用時，公司自然會去槓桿化。當你記住過去 11 個月回購的大量活動時，目前我們的重點是消化這一點，這意味著我們將再次建立現金餘額。

And as Mike noted, we sold most of our position at Townsquare last month and generated just over $50 million of cash. So on a go-forward basis, we will rebuild the cash balance that syncs very nicely with the seasonality of our business. And at the same time, we're going to keep our eye on opportunities to return capital to shareholders.

正如麥克所指出的，我們上個月出售了 Townsquare 的大部分頭寸，並獲得了超過 5000 萬美元的現金。因此，在未來的基礎上，我們將重建與我們業務季節性非常吻合的現金餘額。同時，我們將密切關注向股東返還資本的機會。

Logan Angress, Wolfe Research.

洛根·安格斯，沃爾夫研究中心。

First I'm curious, with the Garden only available for a relatively fixed number of days throughout the year but with more and more artists touring or at least wanting to tour, how have you seen that supply demand imbalance translate to pricing at the Garden? And then I'm curious, obviously Christmas Spectacular has been a big success. I'm curious how you think about opportunities to potentially move more into owned and operated shows more year round or is the focus just to continue growing Christmas Spectacular?

首先，我很好奇，花園全年只有相對固定的開放天數，但隨著越來越多的藝術家巡迴演出或至少想要巡演，您如何看待供需失衡轉化為花園的定價？然後我很好奇，顯然聖誕盛會取得了巨大的成功。我很好奇您如何看待全年可能更多地進入自有和運營的演出的機會，還是重點只是繼續發展聖誕盛會？

In terms of your first question, I think you're right on the money. Speaking specifically to the arena at the Garden, we are very well-positioned in terms of supply and demand here. And on the supply side, we'll do about 245 total events at the arena in fiscal '24 which as we mentioned previously would be an internally a record for us. That does equate to about 70% utilization, relatively flat year over year. We've managed to minimize the number of loading days, and we've had some success in building having multimedia.

就你的第一個問題而言，我認為你在金錢方面是正確的。具體到花園球場，我們在這裡的供需方面處於非常有利的位置。在供應方面，我們將在 24 財年在競技場舉辦大約 245 場活動，正如我們之前提到的，這對我們來說將是一個內部記錄。這相當於利用率約為 70%，與去年同期相比相對持平。我們成功地減少了載入天數，並且在建立多媒體方面取得了一些成功。

So while number of events is up utilization is relatively flat. I think there's some runway to improve that. But there is a scarcity of supply around it. You're absolutely correct in that regard. And then in terms of demand, we do see more and more artists touring. We do see live experiences and live entertainment being very popular, and the Garden is a premium venue. Artists want to play here. We often have promoters that will book us first and then build the rest of the tour around that to make sure they can get a date for us.

因此，儘管事件數量增加，但利用率卻相對持平。我認為有一些途徑可以改進這一點。但週邊存在供應短缺的情況。在這方面你是完全正確的。然後就需求而言，我們確實看到越來越多的藝術家進行巡迴演出。我們確實看到現場體驗和現場娛樂非常受歡迎，而花園是一個優質場所。藝術家想在這裡表演。我們經常會有促銷員先為我們預訂，然後圍繞此安排剩餘的行程，以確保他們能為我們找到約會對象。

So I think we do have some pricing power versus other venues in that regard in terms of where we sit in the supply and demand curves. The point I would make that's not necessarily a new dynamic is reflected in the rates that we charge currently. We re-examine our pricing continuously especially now while we're in a budget process and within the context of these market dynamics. So it's not a new dynamic, but we are very well-positioned in that regard.

因此，我認為，就我們在供需曲線上的位置而言，與其他場所相比，我們確實擁有一定的定價能力。我要指出的一點是，這不一定是新的動態，這反映在我們目前收取的費率中。我們不斷重新審查我們的定價，尤其是在我們處於預算過程中並在這些市場動態的背景下。所以這不是一個新的動態，但我們在這方面處於非常有利的位置。

In terms of your second question on the Christmas Spectacular, the Christmas Spectacular is a very unique franchise with a very unique and one-of-a-kind history. We did put up record revenues this past season. It's bounced back very nicely from the pandemic. And the economics are definitely different than some of the other shows we run through the content ownership.

關於你關於聖誕大秀的第二個問題，聖誕大秀是一個非常獨特的系列，有著非常獨特和獨一無二的歷史。上個賽季我們確實創造了創紀錄的收入。它從大流行中恢復得非常好。而且其經濟學絕對不同於我們透過內容所有權來運作的其他一些節目。

Right now and you kind of alluded to this in response to an earlier question, our focus is on maximizing profitability of the Christmas show through a number of shows, through ticket yield, to sell-through. And in terms of the show itself, we will continue to make modest refinements to in terms of upgraded technology, content refinements whether it's adding scene or modifying scene. Example last season, we added some drones. We added a forest berries scene to the show, all of which was very well received.

現在，您在回答之前的問題時提到了這一點，我們的重點是透過大量演出、門票收益和售票率來最大化聖誕演出的盈利能力。而就節目本身而言，無論是增加場景還是修改場景，我們都會在技術升級、內容細化方面繼續進行適度的改進。例如上個賽季，我們增加了一些無人機。我們在節目中添加了森林漿果場景，所有這些都非常受歡迎。

So we'll continue to refine and upgrade the show in that regard. And we will continue to remain focused on the Rockettes brand, but that's where the focus is on growing the profitability of the existing Christmas show. We're not -- we don't have any plans currently. We've developed more owned content or new productions in that regard.

所以我們會繼續在這方面對節目進行細化和升級。我們將繼續專注於 Rockettes 品牌，但這才是重點是提高現有聖誕秀的獲利能力。我們沒有——我們目前沒有任何計劃。我們在這方面開發了更多自有內容或新作品。

Thanks, Logan. Operator, we'll take one last caller.

謝謝，洛根。接線員，我們接聽最後一位來電者。

Paul Golding, Macquarie Capital.

保羅‧戈爾丁，麥格理資本。

Mike, was wondering if you could elaborate a bit more on how the Oak View relationship is going. I think you referred to it in relation to sponsorship and finance. So wanted to get a broader view of how that's driving the business and if you're seeing any tangible uplift at the moment?

麥克，想知道您是否可以詳細說明 Oak View 關係的進展。我認為您提到的與贊助和財務有關。想更廣泛地了解這如何推動業務以及您目前是否看到任何實際的提升？

Sure, Paul. So our relation with Oak View Group and their subsidiary Crown properties, we announced it last September and really initiated October 1. Right now the structure of the deal is such that Crown properties leads all of our sales and sponsorship signage inventory for all of our venues and for all of our live entertainment properties. We continue to retain certain functions in-house. We have a certain legacy expertise in constant liaison with Crown properties quite frankly daily, if not more frequently. And all activation and fulfillment responsibilities in regard to these sponsorship deals, which can be complex continues to reside with us internally.

當然，保羅。因此，我們與 Oak View Group 及其子公司 Crown Properties 的關係是去年 9 月宣布的，並在 10 月 1 日真正啟動。目前的交易結構是，皇冠地產在我們所有場館和所有現場娛樂地產的所有銷售和贊助標誌庫存中處於領先地位。我們繼續保留某些內部職能。我們擁有一定的傳統專業知識，坦白說，我們每天（如果不是更頻繁的話）與皇冠房地產保持不斷的聯絡。與這些贊助交易相關的所有啟動和履行責任可能很複雜，但仍由我們內部承擔。

We're definitely encouraged by the momentum we're seeing right now. We've had a couple of nice wins of late that are either closed or right at the finish line. We've seen the pipeline is growing much more robust as time goes on. So this is a long-term deal that we have, and we expect it to be a long-term relationship and all the reasons we entered into this deal are starting to manifest themselves.

我們現在所看到的勢頭無疑地令我們感到鼓舞。我們最近取得了幾場不錯的勝利，要么已經結束，要么就在終點線。我們已經看到，隨著時間的推移，管道變得更加強大。因此，這是我們達成的長期協議，我們希望這將是一種長期關係，我們達成這項協議的所有原因都開始顯現出來。

I think we're still in the early innings of that deal, but it definitely feels like we're getting some traction right now in the marketplace. And we're seeing some trends that make us very encouraged and kind of validate our initial rationale for entering into this deal, something we'll continue to talk about going forward, but we're very encouraged and optimistic right now.

我認為我們仍處於該交易的早期階段，但絕對感覺我們現在在市場上獲得了一些吸引力。我們看到一些趨勢讓我們非常鼓舞，並在某種程度上驗證了我們達成這項交易的最初理由，我們將繼續談論未來的事情，但我們現在非常鼓舞和樂觀。

I will now turn the call back over to Ari Danes for closing remarks. Please go ahead.

現在，我將把電話轉回給阿里·丹尼斯 (Ari Danes)，讓其致閉幕詞。請繼續。

Thank you all for joining us. We look forward to speaking with you on our year-end earnings call in August. Have a good day.

感謝大家加入我們。我們期待在八月的年終收益電話會議上與您交談。祝你有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。