Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRXI) also announced that it will monetize its investment in Titanic artifacts collection, along with related intellectual property and intangibles. In other news, an Australian billionaire, Clive Palmer, announced plans in April to construct the replica Titanic with exactly the same dimensions as the original. However, the new Titanic is expected to have more safety features, as well as air conditioning, according to Palmer’s plans.
The company also announced the acquisition of Exhibit Merchandising LLC, (EM), for about $125,000, which gave it the right to sell all merchandise related to “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs”, “Cleopatra: The Exhibition”, and “Real Pirates”. The deal was finalized on July 12, 2012.
Premier Exhibitions’ Chief Financial Officer, who is also the Chief Operating Officer, Michael Little, is quoted saying:
We are very pleased with our financial results, as they clearly demonstrate the leveraging opportunities inherent within our model. Exhibition revenues benefited from a sharp increase in daily attendance while our QVC relationship and e-commerce presence, along with the revamped product assortment showcased at our exhibits, facilitated significantly higher merchandise revenues.
Our robust top-line also yielded exceptionally strong profitability, with growth in gross profit, adjusted EBITDA, and net income. We applaud the dedicated efforts of our team for their contributions to our success in the second quarter.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Samuel Weiser, added:
We continue to position, Premier for operations following the monetization of the Titanic assets by broadening and diversifying our exhibition offerings to, further solidify our position as the industry leader. To that end, we are collaborating with two highly respected and experienced partners to develop exciting new content that offers both educational and entertainment value. Based upon our current time horizon, we would expect this new content to be ready for touring in the summer of 2013.
Although the venture structure has not yet been finalized, we have taken steps to minimize our risk while retaining significant profit opportunities if the exhibitions that result from this venture perform as we expect they will. We remain focused on managing our cost structure related to our existing content while looking for ways to leverage our core competencies by seeking out new content opportunities, pursuing strategic acquisitions, and pursuing investment capital that is non-dilutive to our shareholders.
A majority of the company’s revenue came from exhibitions, as the Premier’s main business racked over $10 million, with merchandise revenue slightly below $3 million. Subsequently, exhibition costs were over the $4 million mark, with cost of merchandises sold just under $1 million.
At the time of this writing, Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRXI) stock was trading at $2.83 per share, up $0.46, or 19.83% increase from yesterday’s close.
