Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Banijay Group, former FL Entertainment first quarter 2024 results conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be the question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you need to press star one one on your telephone keypad. You will then hear an automatic message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw a question, please press star one one again. Alternatively, you can submit your questions via the webcast. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to our first speaker today, Caroline Cohen, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Nadia. Good evening. This is Caroline Cohen, Head of Investor Relations. Welcome to Banijay Group 2024 Q1 results webcast. Before we start, let me draw your attention to the disclaimer on slide two. I also want to remind you that this presentation is available on the company's website, and a replay of this call will be accessible in the coming days. Your speakers today are François Riahi, CEO, and CFO, Sophie Kurinckx-Leclerc. First, François will go through key financial highlights for the period, followed by a brief business update. Sophie will then cover the results in more detail before François provides some concluding remarks. Over to you, François.
Thank you, Caroline. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Before we get started, you may have noticed a significant change on the page of the presentation that I usually don't comment about, which is the very first one. From this point forward, and subject to AGM approval, of course, we will be known as Banijay Group, incorporating Banijay Entertainment, Banijay Live, and Banijay Gaming. This strategic rebranding reflects the complementarity nature of our existing activities and underlines our ambition as an integrated and diversified entertainment leader. Of course, it will not affect our commercial brands, Betclic, Bet-at-home, Banijay Wonder Studio, or the other 100 production companies within Banijay Entertainment.
From a reporting perspective, we will also continue to show financial information split between content production and distribution and live events, headed by Marco Bassetti, and online sports betting and gaming, led by Nicolas Béraud. The powerful Banijay brand has established itself as a beacon of innovation and creativity, and we see a great opportunity to leverage it at group level across all our activities. With that in mind, Banijay Group is pleased to report a great start to 2024, most notably at Banijay Gaming, which delivered an outstanding performance. Thanks to our Q1 performance and improved visibility for the rest of 2024, we are in a position to increase our earnings guidance for the year. We now expect organic Adjusted EBITDA growth in the low teens, up from high single digits previously.
Let's look now at the main figures for Q1. Our revenues are in excess of EUR 1 billion for the quarter, up 10.6% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA was up 11.2%, leading to a margin of 16.4%, while adjusted net income was up 4.5%. This very strong performance has been achieved despite an amplified seasonality effect on our largest business, Banijay Entertainment, making it an even stronger achievement. Sophie will provide some more details on this. In terms of financial structure, we maintain a high level of cash conversion at 80% and a stable financial leverage ratio. Let's move on to our businesses, starting with Banijay Entertainment, where we continue to deliver high-performing content for linear broadcasters and streaming customers. Let's start with streamers. As already indicated, our business with streamers is growing fast.
It has been up more than 75% during the past two years, and we believe we are already the number one independent provider worldwide. This growth comes from the diversification of our business with them, with more and more momentum on the non-scripted content side, where we have an undisputed global leadership position. At the same time, we have kept a good pace on the scripted side of the business, where we are the European leader. A great example of this trend is Spanish reality music talent show, Operación Triunfo, first broadcasted in 2001 and relaunched on Amazon Prime Video in November 2023. The fact that this type of live shows is appearing on a streaming platform is one of the big recent changes seen in the industry, recently.
Amazon, during their results, announced that Operación Triunfo is the most-watched Spanish premiere for them and attracted 3.5 million viewers over the season. Other highlights include non-scripted reality show, Love Is Blind on Netflix, which became the number one non-scripted series in its genre in Sweden, and a top 10 non-English show worldwide, and premium scripted series, Supersex, which was number one on Netflix in Italy and a top three non-English series worldwide, and it's a biopic about Rocco Siffredi. Both Operación Triunfo and Love Is Blind: Sweden have been recommissioned in line with the recurring nature of successful non-scripted shows that we like very much at Banijay Entertainment. We've also, we are also delivering record ratings for linear broadcasters, particularly from our iconic super brands.
To highlight a few examples, and like for the streamers, I could have, picked a lot of, a lot more. Celebrity Big Brother returned to U.K. screens on ITV1 and streaming platform ITVX, and was the highest-rated show for young adults. Survivor returned to French screens on TF1 and became the number one unscripted program on Catch Up with 5 million viewers. The latest series of MasterChef Italy had its best season since 2017, and was the most-watched show of the season on Sky Uno. While new concept, Deal or No Deal Island, was the number one new unscripted launch on U.S. broadcaster NBC. So as you can see, we have been, our shows have been performing, in all geographies. And it's not just our non-scripted shows that are rating winners for linear broadcasters.
Rivière-Perdue, for example, secured the best audience figures for a drama miniseries on TF1 in France since 2021. The final point I want to make on content production is about social media reach. We have the largest TV content catalog in the world. I'll come back to that in a minute, which includes some very powerful IP. So this is an important area of development for us. Let me give you two examples from the first quarter of how we are attracting new audiences. Operación Triunfo, I mentioned earlier, and Celebrity Big Brother, were traditional viewing formats that also delivered spectacular social media engagement in the quarter. Operación Triunfo received 8.6 million weekly votes, more than 5 billion views on TikTok for the hashtag, hashtag OT, 2023, and 60 million music streaming downloads on Spotify.
While Celebrity Big Brother-related content recorded 49 million views on TikTok and 25 million on X. This activity can generate additional revenues, which we share then with the broadcaster. It also builds a community around successful formats, making them stronger and more likely to be recommissioned for a new season or adopted in new territories. This trend also demonstrates that these super brands continue to attract a new, young audience, successfully evolving to match the way the next generation consume content. These three elements, leading streaming content, linear broadcaster winners, and extensive social media reach, all demonstrate the power of the Banijay Entertainment offer. Now, a word about distribution, which is, the other coin of Banijay Entertainment. Last month, like previous year, Banijay was awarded Distributor of the Year by influential research firm K7.
We were recognized for producing the greatest number of new format launches and for having the highest number of active formats. At the end of March 2024, the content catalog increased to 189,000 hours, adding an additional 4,000 hours from December 2023. It now represents the equivalent of 21.5 years of programs. To sum up on Banijay Entertainment, we are seeing very positive commercial activity over across the board, and this will benefit us in a more significant way later this year, as the traditional seasonality pattern and bias towards H2 is amplified in 2024 across the market, and Sophie will come back to that. Moving to Banijay Live now, which specializes in ceremonies, brand events, destination experiences, and immersive shows.
Banijay Wonder Studio delivered 25 events in Q1, including the opening ceremony for the Dakar Rally and the Hegra Candlelit Concert in AlUla. While at The Independents, the global marketing and communication group, where we hold a minority stake, its agencies were responsible for 142 events in Q1, including the winter collection events for both Yves Saint Laurent and Dior. It means that Banijay and The Independents combined have been creating and delivering globally almost two shows or events per day in the first quarter of 2024. On the M&A side, The Independents continued its consolidation momentum in the first quarter, acquiring two new specialist agencies focused on strategy and consulting for brand, cultural, and entertainment projects, Kennedy and Sunshine. It's interesting to highlight that both of these companies are specialists in helping clients and luxury brands in developing content.
As you know, brands, particularly luxury ones, are becoming producers of culture and are looking more at how to express this culture through audiovisual content. Interestingly, LVMH recently launched a new division, 22 Montaigne, to explore opportunities for its brands to collaborate with entertainment creators, producers, and distributors on film, TV, and audio projects. So we believe that, by adding these companies, which are links between brands and content, we should see good synergies ahead between Banijay Entertainment and Banijay Live in this field. Now, next on to the outstanding performance of Banijay Gaming , which delivered a revenue increase of 31%. Sports book revenue rose by 26%, while online casino, poker, and turf posted very solid revenue growth of 53%.
This continued strong performance has been achieved while still increasing the proportion of revenues generated in locally regulated market, which amounted to 99% in March 2024, a seven-point increase since December 2021. We have now very, very little room to improve. This spectacular growth is of course fed by the strong organic growth potential of our markets, but is also indisputably underpinned by the successful execution of our strategy. The first engine is increased retention and growth in player numbers, with average monthly unique active players up by 24% compared to Q1 2023, outperforming the market. I always insist on the fact that this is the key indicator for commercial performance for this activity.
This is particularly impressive given the fact that Q1 2023 included players attracted during the FIFA World Cup at the end of 2022. Second element I want to underline, geographies. We reinforced our leading positions in our core European markets, while capitalizing on the excellent performance in new territories. Our growing business in Ivory Coast enjoyed an excellent quarter, thanks to the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, which took place in January and February. In Q1 alone, the Betclic app was ranked number one on the App Stores in Ivory Coast and downloaded 127,000 times during the tournament. Third element underlying our performance, cross-selling. Cross-selling has been performing very well, particularly between sportsbook and poker. For example, in France, 21% of sportsbook players have played poker on the platform.
In turn, helping us become number two in poker in the market. So our market share in sportsbook benefit from the other games, and that's why you can see a growth for the other games, which is higher than for the sportsbook, both being very, very strong. In the last element I want to underline is the quality of our product. In all markets, our focus is the delivery of an enhanced user experience and client retention, and we have been able to increase our market shares and grow faster than the market in all our geographies.
In sportsbook, the momentum continued to be very positive, with an increasing number of live bets on individuals, in addition to the traditional betting on football teams, creating a true value proposition and, a differentiation tool for the player. We also enriched the Betclic app with new and attractive games, particularly for online casinos, that improve player experience, drive engagement, and introduce a range of new features. That's all from me for now. I'll be back at the end for some closing remarks on our outlook, before we open the line for questions. Over to you, Sophie.
Thank you, François. So let's start with group revenues for Q1, where a double-digit growth, even when factoring in the seasonality effect at Banijay Entertainment. The period saw a solid contribution from Banijay Entertainment and Banijay Live, with the revenue at EUR 680 million, up 3.1% year-on-year. Banijay Gaming had a standout performance, with revenue up 31% to EUR 321 million. This good performance was reflected in our adjusted EBITDA, up 11.2% at constant exchange rates. This led to a thirty basis point improvement in our adjusted EBITDA margin to 16.4%. At a group level, external expense rose by 15.8%, driven by higher sports betting taxes, in line, of course, with the increase in revenue for this business. Looking next at our consolidated P&L.
LTIP expense were down slightly and are in line with the group's trajectory, that LTIP expense will average around 10% of adjusted EBITDA over the period of the plan, as already highlighted at the full year presentation. The increase seen in employee-related earn-out and option expense is mainly due to the acquisitions made in 2023, and should be seen, and should be considered as acquisition costs rather than staff costs. Cost of net debt increased, which reflects the refinancing of debts in the last year. The decrease in other finance costs is mainly explained by the change in the fair value of financial instruments, including hedging, investment in securities, put and earn-out debt, and currency losses. As a result of the above, adjusted net income rose by 4.5% compared to Q1 2023. Let's go now to results by business.
Starting with Banijay Entertainment and Banijay Live, where revenue was up 3.1% at constant exchange rates, a solid overall performance. At Banijay Entertainment, as highlighted by François, the traditional seasonality pattern and bias towards H2 is amplified in 2024 due to a significant number of major scripted show deliveries expected in Q4. Due to this higher seasonality, content and distribution revenues are down by 3.1% compared to last year. This amplified seasonality in 2024 has also been noted by our main competitors during their last publication. At Banijay Live, the jump in revenues reflects a Q1 contribution from Banijay Wonder Studio. Let's look at Banijay Entertainment and Banijay Live earnings and cash flow next. Adjusted EBITDA was down 4.8% at constant exchange rates due to the seasonality already mentioned. Adjusted free cash flow conversion was 70%.
The change in working capital increase was anticipated and is totally consistent with our 2024 delivery schedule. Income tax paid increased due to higher taxable results at Banijay Entertainment in 2023 compared to 2022. Next, let's look at Banijay Gaming, where revenue was up 31%, thanks to double-digit growth across all divisions. Sportsbook revenue was up 26%, driven by an enriched offering in key markets. All key geographies are performing well, delivering solid new UAP growth. Our strategic decision to expand into the Ivory Coast market has paid dividends, enhanced by the acquisition of new players during the Africa Cup of Nations. Online casino, poker, and turf revenues were up 53%, thanks to strong momentum in casino and poker, benefiting from an enhanced user experience and the positive effect of cross-selling strategies. Banijay Gaming continues to demonstrate its profitability.
Adjusted EBITDA was up 32.4%, and we saw a continuing improvement in margins at 26.3%. Adjusted free cash flow conversion was 90%. Looking at cash flow generation now, adjusted free cash flow at group level reached EUR 131 million in the quarter. This was driven by the earnings generated during the period, supported by the tight control of cash expense and capital expenditure. This resulted in a cash conversion rate after CapEx and lease payments of 80%, which is in line with our guidance. The group's net debt stands at EUR 2.35 billion. We have a strong cash position and a significant undrawn secured credit line. One financing update in the quarter.
In February, as you may know, Banijay repriced its EUR 555 million term loan B and its $556 million term loan B, reducing margins by 75 basis points and 50 basis points respectively, and generating annual savings of around EUR 7 million. Our focus going forward is on balancing our free cash flow with our financing costs, continued strategic M&A activity, and our commitment to shareholder returns. On this point, dividend payments will be made in the next quarter, so this will be reflected in our net debt position. That's all from me. I will now hand back to François for some concluding remarks.
Thank you, Sophie. I will now talk about our outlook for 2024. Looking ahead, our businesses have a busy calendar for the rest of 2024, and we expect this activity to support continued growth. For Banijay Gaming, major sports events includes the Euro 2024 Football Championship, the Copa América, and the Olympic Games in Paris. While the Olympics is not a betting event on the scale of Euro 2024, it does take place at a time of year when other sporting events are limited, creating additional opportunities for players. The fact that it takes place in France, one of our major markets, should also help.
While for Banijay Live, there is a very active fashion show calendar for The Independents and for Banijay Wonder Studio, there will be the delivery of Riyadh Season, a major annual state-funded entertainment and sports festival. For Banijay Entertainment, we are expecting, as mentioned already, major scripted show deliveries in the second half of the year, including the second seasons of audience and distribution winners like Marie Antoinette for Canal+, Carême for Apple TV Plus, SAS: Rogue Heroes for the BBC, and The Rig for Amazon Prime. This repeated business underlines the importance of our powerful content catalog. Thanks to all of these elements, we are in a position to upgrade our guidance for full year 2024, increasing our organic adjusted EBITDA growth guidance to low teens from high single digits.
The group is also providing additional financial metrics within its full year 2024 guidance. Free cash flow conversion of above 80% and net debt leverage below 3x. To conclude, our strong track record of growth since listing is expected to continue, and our confidence is reflected in the upgrade to full year 2024 guidance. This is down to our truly differentiated business model. We are well-positioned to capture and consolidate profitable, fast-growing and fragmented segments of the global entertainment industry. A final comment from me before we start the Q&A. As previously communicated, Banijay Group aims to expand its free float and stock liquidity so that all our shareholders can fully benefit from this strong performance. In this respect, we continue to actively monitor our market conditions in readiness for the right market opportunity. So stay tuned.
That's all from me. Thank you for your attention and back to you, Caroline.
Thank you, François. So it's now time for questions. Can I just ask you to state your name and company? Thank you.
Dear participants, as a reminder, if you wish to ask a question over the phone, please press star one one on your telephone keypad, and wait for a name to be announced. To withdraw a question, please press star one one again. Alternatively, you can submit your questions via the webcast. And now we're going to take our first question. Just give us a moment, and it comes from line of Thomas Singlehurst from Citi. Your line is open. Please ask your question.
Yeah, good, good evening. Good afternoon. I'm Tom here from Citi. Thank you very much for the presentation, and thank you for taking the questions. I had a couple, if it was okay. The first one is on the content production side, the sort of traditional content production side. We've seen slightly better sort of ad revenue trends in the first quarter. I'm wondering whether across a lot of free-to-air broadcasters, I should say. I'm wondering whether you think that's feeding into more sort of confidence in the pipeline for content. I know you've got some big deliveries in the fourth quarter, but just more broadly, is sentiment improving on the sort of non-streamer side of the sort of demand for content? That was the first question.
And then the second question, congratulations on the rebrand. I think that one thing that really, really confirms is that the sports betting and gaming businesses, you know, really are a core part of the group. I'm wondering whether you, you know, I wonder whether we should be thinking about more capital being allocated to that, you know, that segment, and in particular, is there scope for more M&A in that space? Thank you.
Thank you, Thomas. On your first question, yes, I think we saw with pleasure good results from our clients, broadcasters and also streamers, mostly with better advertisement revenues and better profitability at streamers. It's always good to have clients that are in good shape. And it's clear that 2023, which was not an easy year for our clients, explain also the delay in the delivery of shows in 2024. So there's a link, yes, between the seasonality and the fact that our clients have waited also to have the deliveries that their ad revenues improve.
So yes, you know, we are quite confident on our business content production and distribution business for 2024. It's the upgraded guidance comes mostly from sports betting over performance. But the confidence in our content production business and the situation of our clients is also part of our global confidence on our figures. On the rebranding, thank you for your congratulations. I think, you know, we would be ready to allocate more capital to sports betting and online gaming if we find the right opportunity to create value. It's really... We have a great IT system. We have a great team.
We have a great, you know, business. And we could leverage it in new geographies if we find targets that can really rely on our system, and that could create cost synergies. So we would not do M&A just for the sake of M&A and to allocate capital at this business. But yes, we could allocate capital and more capital if we find the right opportunity to unlock value. And the IT platform of Betclic is very scalable. We can add new brands, we can add new geographies quite easily. And it's a very performing IT, as you can see in the figures. If we find the right opportunity, yes, it could be, it could be the case.
That's very clear. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Now we're going to take our next question. And the question comes to the line of, Conor O'Shea from Kepler Cheuvreux. Your line is open, please ask your question.
Yes. Thank you. Good evening, everybody. Three quick questions from my side. Firstly, just in terms of the raised guidance, congratulations on that, by the way. But, is that coming exclusively from the betting side? Is that fair to say? And, have you included a significant boost from the Euro 2024, or could that be a bonus on top of that? Then secondly, on the content side, could you give us an estimate on the organic growth, so excluding the contribution from the live business, and that impact on reported revenues in the first quarter?
Then the last question on the live business again is the run rate of revenues in the first quarter indicative of what you could expect for the full year, given the pipeline that you outlined? Thank you.
Thank you, Connor. On your first question, yes, the upgrade of the guidance is linked to the fact that we see now higher performance of sports betting and gaming. Of course, you know, Euro 2024 was already planned.
Mm-hmm.
It's not new, so it was in our figures, but we have been constantly too conservative on sports betting and gaming. And this time, I think there's really some room for an improved guidance, also given the trend we are in. But as I mentioned to Thomas, I think the quality of our pipeline and content production and distribution, and live, is helping us to improve the guidance, because we have a good confidence in what lays ahead of us. On your second question, Sophie, you want to?
Yeah. Well, in fact, the main impact of the external growth is, of course, Balich which was not included in the contribution in Q1 2023. For the remaining part, it's only organic. So as I mentioned, in the slide 21, we saw that the content distribution and content and distribution and production revenues are down by 3.1% in total compared to last year. This is clearly linked to the seasonality, and it has been also highlighted by our main competitors in their recent issuance of figures. So, but, clearly, we are less impacted by this amplified seasonality. But the only, I would say, external impact that you should take into account is the Balich contribution.
Okay.
on your last Question, we also expect the seasonality for Balich We should see an increased, increased revenues on the rest of the year. It includes also the fact that, as you know, as we said, Banijay is very active in the Middle East. This year, the Ramadan was in the first quarter. Last year it was in second quarter. We expect also some seasonality, but in the good way, for the rest of the year.
Okay. Very clear. Thank you.
Thank you. Now we're going to take our next question. The question comes to line of Aaron Watts from Deutsche Bank. Your line is open, please ask your question.
Hi, everyone. Thanks for having me on. Two questions. One, I wanted to follow up on your remarks around the sentiment of your entertainment customers. At least here in the U.S., we continue to hear about cost-cutting initiatives from the large consolidated media companies. As we're now nearing the midpoint of the year, have you noticed any changes in behavior from your partners in the U.S. and/or around the world, across legacy outlets or streamers, whether it be number of commitments, sizing of commitments, et cetera? And then secondly, more of a housekeeping question, but just can you remind me on the margins for the live business relative to the entertainment unit? And should we think about that as weighing a little bit on the overall margins as the live unit continues to grow? Thank you.
If you have the second question.
Well, in fact, we don't provide with the margin, margin differentiating between the Banijay Entertainment and Banijay Live. It's quite the same.
Similar, yes, it's not. There's no big difference. On your first question. Yes, in the U.S., we see a slowdown in decision making process post strike for commissioning and also a stronger, you know, I would say, a strong focus on the rationalization of costs. So, you know, we follow the trend in the market and our clients, and we work on that. But, as you know, in the U.S., we are not active in scripted in the U.S. so it's a little bit different. And I think, of course, this is a global evolution, but the trend is far more strong on scripted. Answer your question?
Yes. Thank you.
Thank you. Now, we're going to take our next question. Just give us a moment. And the question comes from the line of Laura Homsy from MFS. Your line is open. Please ask your question.
Hi there, and apologies if this has been asked previously, because I missed the beginning of the call. Just looking at the capital structure at Banijay's standalone level, the cash balance has come down quite a bit by sort of around EUR 100 million quarter on quarter. If you could just sort of clarify what the sort of driver of that was in terms of cash usage or cash burn at the Banijay level, that would be helpful. Thank you.
Well, as we mentioned to you, so there is quite high seasonality in Q1 2024. It's true on the delivery, but also on the cash collection side. So of course, we always collect more cash by the end of the year when we deliver the large part of our shows. So that's why it's more, how can I say that? It's more convenient. Well, you should have a look on the last twelve month basis rather than a quarter by quarter.
Here what is important during the Q1 is, as I mentioned, the change in working cap is negative, a little bit more than last year due to the higher seasonality, but also due to the fact that in Q1 we are always in full production. For example, the scripted shows that have to, has to be delivered by the end of the year, like Marie Antoinette, SAS, Rogue Heroes, et cetera, are currently under post-production, which needs more working cap than at the end of December. So that explain our cash generation during this quarter.
Okay, thank you. And then if I can follow up, please, regarding the leverage, which is obviously higher quarter-on-quarter as a result of that, but also potentially also because of the lower EBITDA. Are you still confirming the leverage target of bringing that below 4x?
Yes. Within two years.
Within two years. Okay, great. Thanks for confirming. That was all.
Thank you. Now, we're going to take our next question. The next question comes from the line of Jean-Baptiste Teissier from Amundi Asset Management. Your line is open, please ask your question.
Hi, thank you. I had just one follow-up question to Laura because I had the same question regarding capital structure. It's regarding the undrawn credit line. In the past, you used to mention that the FL Entertainment level, EUR 220 million, while now it's EUR 350 million. Do you added new undrawn lines at the Banijay level? This is what we had previously, or is this still mainly the undrawn RCF EUR 170 million? Thank you.
At Banijay level, we still have an RCF of EUR 170 million. That is, undrawn at the end of March. And at Banijay Entertainment, we still have an RCF of EUR 50 million, which is undrawn also.
Because in the presentation, in slide 26, you mentioned EUR 350 of undrawn secured credit lines, while in the past it was EUR 220. So that's—I saw that it increased quarter-over-quarter. So, at the Banijay level, at least, it doesn't change. Right.
For the RCF is still EUR 170 million.
Okay, perfect. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Now, we're going to take our next question. The next question comes from the line of Frauke Wolkowitz from ODDO BHF. Your line is open. Please ask your question.
Hello, and thank you for taking my question. I've got a question again on your capital structure. I mean, it's nice to see that you are now harmonizing your branding, but what are your plans for harmonizing your financing? Are you willing and planning to include Betclic, or as you say, Banijay Gaming, into the restricted group of the bonds and get a cheaper financing? What are your plans there?
We will think about it, but we are not going to include Betclic in the restricted group. But of course, we will look at optimizing our- financial structure, and clearly to lower the cost of our financing will be an important goal for us as we believe that, you know, the credit of the group could justify a lower cost.
Will this be a project for 2026, 2024? Sorry, 2024.
No, no, I don't think so. It's a long-term. It's more a long-term, medium-term, work.
Okay. And, the free float of the stock, you want to expand that. Would that be via selling new shares, capital increase, or how, how would you think about it?
We'll keep the market, you know, posted when an operation is launched. But definitely, to increase the free float, it would mean come back to the market and have new investors joining after that. The split between the primary and secondary is something we will disclose when we come to the market.
Okay. Last question from my side. The dividend, which you are going to pay next quarter, will it be at the same level than in 2023?
Yes, we announced it at the full year result of 2023.
Ah.
EUR 148 million, is it? Same level as last time.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you. Now we'll go and take our next question. The next question comes in the line of Jean-Yves Guibert from BlueBay Asset Management. Your line is open, please ask your question.
Yeah. Hi, good afternoon, François, Sophie. Quick follow-up on the cash flow statement for Banijay. So I hear, Sophie, your explanation about the seasonality and therefore the high working capital consumption in Q1. But also, would like to understand whether there have been any specific advances or M&A payments in Q1 also, which will have impacted your cash balance, given your CapEx is EUR 30 million at the Banijay Entertainment, Banijay Live level, while you report cash flow from investing activities of EUR 47 million. So whether there have been any, I mean, specific payments in that respect, while at the same time your advances and inputs has increased by EUR 9 million on a sequential basis. Also, if you can provide us with the expected timeline of payment for this. Thank you very much.
Well, we don't provide more details on the expected timeline for payment of the annuity input than what you're gonna find in the full year consolidated financials of Banijay Entertainment. So, during the Q1, we had some one-off costs linked to the M&A, as we did an acquisition, for example, of Authentic Media. We also paid the remaining cost for The Forge, which has been acquired by the end of last year, and some other smaller financing for some JVs. But it's not really significant compared to what we could have in the past.
So it's mostly about the production cycle.
Exactly.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you. And now I would like to hand over to Caroline Cohen for any written questions.
Yes, thank you, Nadia. I've got one question, which is not answered yet, which comes from John Belk: What factors would cause your Q4 scripted series delivery to be pushed in 2025?
Well, in fact, we expect to deliver in Q4 2024, but we could have some quite remote risk to deliver to have some delays, but this is something we don't expect.
You know, and we, and we have, you know, a strong experience in this business. So, we, we believe we have a good visibility on the end of the year. And, the deliveries we are talking about, we, we have mentioned some of them, but we have a lot more. So, you know, even if one maybe was delayed, which we don't expect, it would not be probably significant.
I think that's it from the website. Nadia, over to you.
Thank you. Dear participants, just a reminder, if you wish to ask a question over the phone, please press star one one on your telephone keypad. Alternatively, you can submit your questions via the webcast. Dear speakers, there are no further questions. I would now like to hand the conference over to François Riahi for any closing remarks.
Thank you. Thank you very much for joining this first financial results under the name of Banijay Group. And, of course, we're looking forward to the next interactions for the H1 result. Make sure you will be all attending on the August 1st. So thank you very much, and good evening.
That does conclude our conference today. Thank you for participating. You may now all disconnect. Have a nice day.