TLA Worldwide : Interims announced

27 September 2016

TLA Worldwide plc

("TLA" or "the Group")

Unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2016

TLA Worldwide plc (AIM: TLA), a leading athlete representation and sports marketing business, is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2016.

Financial Highlights

• Headline figures

  • Revenue growth of 3% to $21.8 million (2015: $21.2 million)

  • Operating income4 growth of 8% to $16.9 million (2015: $15.6 million)

  • Headline EBITDA1 of $3.6 million (2015: $4.9 million)

  • Headline Profit before tax2 of $2.9 million (2015: $4.3 million)

  • Headline Diluted EPS3 of 1.32cents (2015: 2.33 cents)

• Statutory figures

  • Operating loss of $2.6 million (2015 loss: $0.6 million) o Loss before tax of $4.0 million (2015 loss: $1.4 million) o Loss per share of $3.2 cents (2015 loss: $1.5 cents)

• Proposed interim dividend of 0.23 pence per share (2015: 0.2 pence) an increase of 15%

• Net debt as at 30 June 2016 was $25.8 million (2015: $22.4 million), due primarily to impact of working capital for the strong pipeline of events in H2 2016

• Outlook positive for H2 and beyond, underpinned by strong events pipeline and long term baseball contracts

  Operational Highlights

  Sports Marketing

• Sports Marketing revenue grew 8% to $15.1 million (2015: $14.0 million)

  Events success

• In March, delivered the first Aviva Premiership rugby union game in the USA

• In June, delivered the 2016 Ice Hockey Classic with Wayne Gretzky across 5 cites in Australia

• Strong events portfolio in H2 2016 including:

  • Tottenham Hotspur, Atlético Madrid and Juventus in the 2016 International Champions Cup tournament in July

  • The Australian national basketball team - the Boomers - farewell matches versus the Pac 12 All Stars in final preparation for the Rio Olympics in July

  • Opening match of 2016 NCAA American College Football Championships in Sydney, with the University of California Berkley versus the University of Hawaii in August

  • The New Zealand All Blacks v Irish National rugby team at Chicago's iconic Soldier Field in November

    Athlete success

• 2016 Rio Olympics and Paralympics success with clients winning a total of 14 medals including:

  • Adam Peaty broke the world record and won Olympic gold in the 100 metres breaststroke and silver in the 4×100 metres medley relay

  • Mack Horton won Olympic gold in the 400 metres men's freestyle

  • Kyle Chalmers won Olympic gold in the 100 metres men's freestyle

  • Emma Mckeon, Cate Campbell and Bronte Campbell all won Olympic gold as part of the Australian women's 400x100 metres freestyle relay team

  • Becky James won two Olympic silver medals in the Keirin and Sprint

  • Richard Whitehead MBE won gold in the 200 metres and silver in the 100 metres at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio

• Bryson DeChambeau turned professional after finishing as the high ranking amateur in the US Masters and Jim Furyk, who recently scored 58, the lowest score in the history of the PGA TOUR, finished 2nd in the US Open.

  Baseball Representation

• Baseball Representation revenue was $6.6 million (2015: $7.2 million)

• Total baseball player client list is now 274 (2015: 260) an increase of 5%

• Major League Baseball ("MLB") clients increased 19% to 93 (2015: 78)

  • Signed 15 new MLB clients including All Stars Mookie Betts and, recently, Madison Bumgarner

  • 12 Minor League Baseball ("MiLB") clients moved up to MLB teams during the season (2015: 12)

• Alex Bregman was the 2016 MiLB Player of the Year, and the second pick in the 2015 MLB Draft

• Four clients selected for 2016 MLB All Star game (2015: 1)

• Advised 9 players in the 2016 MLB Draft, (2015: 7) including two first round picks, up 29%

• 20 clients are eligible for arbitration for the 2017 season (2016:11), an 82% increase, providing an opportunity for revenue growth looking forward

• Negotiated signing bonuses in H1 2016 which have been signed in July 2016 and will be recognised in H2 2016

Atlantic Alliance Partnership Corp ("AAPC")

The AAPC transaction has now ended. Despite the best efforts of both AAPC and TLA, it became apparent to the board that various aspects of the offer had materially changed since originally being announced, and as a consequence the board withdrew its recommendation and AAPC subsequently announced that the offer period had ended. The transaction was extremely time consuming for the executive management team over a period of five months. The business incurred over $1m in deal costs, treated as exceptional.

1. Headline EBITDA is defined as statutory operating profit adjusted to add back depreciation, amortisation of acquired intangible assets and any acquisition related charges, share-based payment charges and exceptional items.

2. Headline EBITDA after bank interest and depreciation.

3. Headline earnings per share is defined as headline profit for the year divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year. Headline profit for the year is defined as profit for the year adjusted to add back amortisation of acquired intangible assets and any other acquisition related charges, share based payment charges, fair value movement on financial derivatives, unwinding of discount on deferred consideration and exceptional items.

4. Operating income is equal to gross profit in the income statement.

Bart Campbell, Executive Chairman of TLA, commented:

"We are pleased with the results as the good momentum of the previous year continued into the first half of 2016. The period was extremely successful for the quality of MLB clients added to our roster which stands TLA in a great position for the future, as these players move through their careers with TLA. Baseball continues to enjoy excellent forward visibility and we have a record number of clients

becoming eligible for arbitration over the fourth quarter of this year and heading into the first quarter of 2017.

"We have continued to increase the number of clients we serve across the business and it has been great to watch our athletes perform well at the Olympics, Paralympics and other major championships. Also, the rebranding of ESP's business to TLA Australia has had a positive impact with a now consistent branding presence for the Group globally.

"Looking ahead, the momentum achieved in the first half has continued into the second half and we expect revenue growth in both the Sports Marketing and Baseball Representation segments. With a maturing MLB client roster and record numbers moving into arbitration eligibility as well as organisation of four events in the second half of the year, the Board looks ahead with confidence for the future and declares a second interim dividend of 0.23 pence per share - an increase of 15% on prior year."

Enquiries:

TLA Worldwide plc
Bart Campbell, Chairman	[phone] On the day [phone] Thereafter
Michael Principe, Chief Executive Officer	[phone] On the day [phone] Thereafter
Numis Securities
Nick Westlake and Oliver Hardy (Nomad)	[phone]
Christopher Wilkinson
Luther Pendragon
Harry Chathli, Alexis Gore	[phone]

About TLA

TLA is a leading athlete representation, sports marketing and event management group quoted on London's AIM. The Group derives revenues from long term agency relationships with many prominent US and international sports stars, broadcasters and media personalities associated with major sports including the MLB, NFL, NBA, PGA TOUR, AFL, Olympians and cricketers. In addition, it also provides a range of services in respect of media consultancy, sports sponsorship and event creation and ownership, including the International Champions Cup tournament in Australia. With over 170 full- time personnel, TLA serves its clients from 10 locations worldwide including its offices in London, UK; New York, Newport Beach, Houston, Charleston, San Francisco, USA; Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Sydney, Australia. For more information, please visit www.tlaworldwide.com.

Summary of results Headline results

For the six-month period to 30 June	2016	2015	Change
$000's	$000's
Revenue	21,775	21,207	3%
Operating income	16,855	15,642	8%
Headline EBITDA	3,588	4,867	-26%
Headline EBITDA margin1	21.3%	31.1%	-9.8%
Headline profit before tax2	2,882	4,268	-32%
Headline earnings per share (cents)	1.32	2.33	-43%
Statutory results
For the six-month period to 30 June	2016	2015	Change
Revenue	21,775	21,207	3%
Operating (loss) from operations	(2,555)	(594)	-330%
(Loss) before tax	(3,961)	(1,406)	-182%
Diluted (loss) per share (cents)	(3.21)	(1.50)	-114%

Group operating income increased by 8% to $16.9 million driven by the growth in Sports Marketing. Baseball Player Representation revenue was 8% below 2015. Group Headline EBITDA decreased by 26% to $3.6 million, due to the timing of operating costs which is expected to unwind in H2 2016, as well as the increased investment in the Baseball business. This investment will benefit the business in the future with organic growth as additional players that have been recruited begin to generate fees. On a like for like basis Baseball benefited from signing bonuses in H1 2015 which was not repeated in H1 2016. During H1 2016 Baseball was actively negotiating signing bonuses of which one was signed in July 2016 and will be reflected in H2 2016. Signing bonuses typically occur in H2 of each year, after the baseball season has ended.

The Group Headline EBITDA margin decreased by 9.8 percentage points to 21.3%, in part due to the lower margin business of TLA Australia where there was a full six months' impact compared to 2015, together with the ongoing investment in Baseball Representation. This investment, along with the upcoming four events in H2, positions the business well.

In H2 2015 TLA delivered two major events. In H2 2016 TLA will deliver four events, three of which have been successfully delivered since the half year, with the final event to be held in November.

The statutory operating loss is after charges relating to amortisation ($2.6 million) (2015: $2.2 million); AAPC aborted deal costs ($1.1 million); and a charge in respect of share based payments ($2.3 million) (2015: $2.5 million). The share based payment relates to the Group's Long Term Incentive Plan ("LTIP"), for the founders of the Group.

1. Headline EBITDA divided by operating income

2. Headline EBITDA after bank interest and depreciation