NBCUniversal International has posted a record pre-tax loss following a write down of £99,297,000 ($130 million), its latest accounts show.
The accounts, which were filed at U.K. business registrar Companies House last week and cover the 12 month period up to Dec. 31, 2023, were accompanied by a report that said: “Following an assessment of the company’s investments, the varying value was reduced resulting in an impairment of £99,297,000 in 2023.”
U.K.-based entity NBCUniversal International Limited, which is a U.K. subsidiary of NBCUniversal, did not specify which investments it had written down, although a source said the writer down was a “non-cash” impairment. A spokesperson for NBCU also declined to comment.
The U.K. company wholly owns a number of production outfits including “Downton Abbey” producer Carnival Productions, Working Title Television and “Harry Potter” producer David Heyman’s Heyday Television. It also wholly owns “Made in Chelsea” producer Monkey Kingdom, Australian TV company Matchbox Pictures and distributor Focus Features International, among dozens of other subsidiaries.
The source added that “under the accounting rules [the impairment does not] reflect a share of the profits or losses of the underlying entities.”
NBCUniversal International’s operating profit for 2023 was £1.3 million, resulting in an overall pre-tax loss of £96,584,000 ($126 million).
A source told Variety the figure was a reflection of the write-down on investments and not the company’s performance, given operating profit was only slightly down from the previous year’s result of £1.5 million. The operating profit, which a source said “is not directly related to the U.K. television environment,” relates to services provided to other companies owned by NBCU.
This year’s pre-tax loss contrasts with last year’s pre-tax profit of £37,270,000. Other than a blip in 2021, which showed a £35,359,000 loss, the pre-tax year-end accounts for 2020 (£2,965,000) and 2019 (£7,486,000) were also profitable.
Meanwhile turnover for 2023 stood at £47,323,000 compared to £53,574,000 the previous year.
The report, which noted there had been a “reduction in turnover in the current year in line with reduced costs across the business,” set out numerous risks faced by the company, which included “competitive pressures within the entertainment industry, a challenging macroeconomic environment, rapid technological change and increased risk of piracy.”
By geographical market the turnover broke down as £26,421,000 from the U.K. (compared to £33,734 in 2022), £20,161,000 from the U.S. (compared to £18,893 in 2022) and £741,000 from the rest of the world (£947,000 in 2022).
After tax the loss for the year ending Dec. 31, 2023 was £97,343,000. In 2022 it was a profit of £36,602,000.
Like many markets, the U.K. has seen a contraction in the TV industry due to an advertising downturn that has had a significant knock-on effect on commissioning. This has coincided with a turbulent economic climate and post-pandemic inflation, both throughout the U.K. and more acutely in the TV production sector.
