Dolphin Entertainment, Inc.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Dolphin Entertainment first quarter 2024 earnings call. At this time, all participants are on a listen-only mode and the floor will be open for questions and comments following the presentation. Please note, this call is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host, Mr. James Carbonara, Investor Relations. Sir, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for Dolphin Entertainment's first quarter 2024 earnings call. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that during the course of this conference call, management may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and involve risks and uncertainties that could differ materially from actual events. Please refer to the cautionary text regarding forward-looking statements contained in the earnings release published earlier today, as well as the most recent SEC filings and reports. During the call today, management will also discuss non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted operating income or loss. The company believes these will provide helpful information for investors. Reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures are provided in the earnings release. Now, I would like to turn the call over to Bill O'Dowd, Chief Executive Officer of Dolphin Entertainment. Bill?

Thanks, James, and welcome, everyone. I'll start by reviewing some of the key financial and operating highlights from our record-setting first quarter of 2024, and then Myrta will provide a more detailed financial overview before we open it up for Q&A. Starting with the headlines, well, as you may have seen in our earnings release of a few minutes ago, Total revenue for Q1 was $15.2 million, increasing 54% compared to Q1 last year, and which was also a significant increase of 27% over our previous quarterly revenue record of $12 million established one quarter earlier in Q4 of 2023. On the bottom line, we delivered positive adjusted operating income of $1 million, For those unfamiliar, adjusted operating income strips out non-cash and non-recurring items, and it's the primary metric we use to evaluate our performance. Reporting positive adjusted operating income is tremendously gratifying and validates the success of our strategy, especially compared to the 1.9 million adjusted operating loss in Q1 of 2023. Our positive adjusted operating income of $1 million also represents another significant sequential increase of 236% over the positive operating income of $0.3 million we reported for Q4 of 2023. By concentrating on organic expansion among our top-tier marketing entities and launching complementary ventures at a steady pace, we believe we are strategically positioned for sustained growth in both revenue generation and adjusted operating income, the crucial financial metric against which we gauge our performance, as I said earlier. We believe that this accelerating growth we've reported today highlights the powerful combo of our industry-leading marketing and publicity services firms firing on all cylinders, coupled with tangible payoff as we begin to commercialize our premium content ventures, with Blue Angels simply being the first venture to monetize and have an exponential impact on our financial results. Now that our full group of marketing companies has been assembled with the acquisition of special projects last October, and we are developing ventures opportunities in earnest, we expect the amplifying impact will grow significantly as the Dolphin Ventures portfolio expands. We believe this strategy will unlock compounding returns and continuous value creation by sustainably getting paid for services while accumulating equity stakes, many times without any capital required from Dolphin. But before getting into ventures, we'll start with some subsidiary highlights. At 42 West, the movie promotion teams helped secure four Oscar wins for clients, including Best Animated Film for The Boy and the Heron and Best Visual Effects for Godzilla Minus One. They drove massive buzz and box office returns throughout the valuable awards season corridor. Meanwhile, Surefire Media continued its Grammy dominance, representing clients who won a collective nine Grammys and over two dozen total nominations spanning genres like pop, R&B, jazz, and more. Both firms played pivotal roles supporting marquee clients at leading film festivals like South by Southwest and event shows like the Golden Globes. The Door also supported clients at South by Southwest, including Giada De Laurentiis, the Emmy Award-winning television personality, New York Times bestselling cookbook author, restaurateur, and entrepreneur, and promotion of her Italian lifestyle brand, Giazzi. The digital department, our specialized influencer marketing division, made two strategic moves to expand their capabilities. First, they inked a deal with Glow Lab and founder Susan Yara to create a new skincare and dermatology influencer practice. Secondly, they partnered with legendary youth talent agency Osbrink to establish a young adult division focused on Gen Z and Gen Alpha influencers across TikTok and YouTube. Finally, special projects continued a strong momentum, collaborating with luxury brands like Chanel, Gucci, and Valentino on product launches and Fashion Week activations. Also, they had another extremely busy Oscars season, running five significant events during Oscars week, including separate events for such blue chip clients as apple versace and w magazine shifting gears i'll now provide updates on some of our ventures as a reminder for those new to the dolphin story ventures will provide us ownership stakes and assets wherein our form of marketing can provide the greatest influence on the likelihood of success namely content creation consumer products and live experiences notably It's worth repeating that we anticipate Dolphin securing ownership stakes in many of these endeavors without the necessity of a cash outlet. Okay, it's a big week at Dolphin on multiple ventures fronts. Let's start with our flagship Blue Angels documentary. We are incredibly excited for the film's upcoming theatrical debut in IMAX theaters this weekend. The marketing campaign is in full swing. with the exclusive trailer premiere on the Today Show generating massive buzz and wedding audience appetite. Blue Angels has already delivered a substantial financial contribution in Q1. During the quarter, we monetized a significant portion of the streaming distribution rights, generating $3.4 million in revenue. The film will become available for streaming on Amazon Prime starting May 23rd, perfectly timed to capitalize on the Memorial Day viewing period. which, by the way, is the same weekend that Top Gun Maverick was released two years ago, starring our client Tom Cruise. And there's another tie between the two films. Glenn Powell, who's about as hot as any actor in Hollywood right now, ain't that the truth, played Hangman in Top Gun Maverick and is also a producer with us on Blue Angels, which certainly helps with the promotion. Oh, and by the way, Blue Angels is a perfect example of a venture driving business back to our supergroup, since 42S is handling the PR for the movie. Importantly, in addition to the traditional theatrical window, Blue Angels represents an annuity revenue stream from its extended run in institutional IMAX theaters at museums, science centers, and other educational venues around the globe. This institutional theater distribution channel provides a lucrative multi-year box office tale. So that's coming this Friday. What's that? This Friday is too far away for some of you on this call. You can't wait three days for a catalyst at Dolphin? What are you, James Carbonaro, the week of his birthday? Okay, okay, okay. Well, today, like right now, fast enough for you? Because consumers can now place pre-orders for StapleGen on the official website, and shipments are available starting, you guessed it, right now, today, to 43 states. In addition to the online launch, Staple Gin is making its way across the state of New York, being introduced in retail stores, bars, and restaurants. As a matter of fact, Charlie Dugiello, who is leading the charge for Dolphin in this venture, just spotted Staple Gin at Union Square Wine and Spirits not even two hours ago. And again, for those new to the Dolphin story, Staple Gin is a new spirit developed by the team at The Door and our client, Rachel Ray, and crafted in New York's Catskills region by Do Good Spirits. Dolphin is a partner with Rachel Ray and Do Good Spirits, whereby Dolphin is the official creative marketing partner. And let me just say, Rachel has really knocked this one out of the park. Staple Gin has already gained recognition, being ranked as the highest-rated American gin in VinePair's 30 Best Gins for 2024 guide, with an impressive rating of 94 points. Please remember, folks, this gin was rated before going to market, and it received the highest score given by an industry heavyweight publication. That is an incredible result. Oh, and that's all with its retail price point suggested as only $39.99. Needless to say, this gin has caught the attention of gin enthusiasts and has been praised for its clarity of aromas and flavors. The partnership between Dolphin and Staple Gin signifies a strong alliance between the entertainment marketing industry and the world of spirits. We believe that our collaboration will elevate the brand and bring Staple Gin to a wider audience through innovative and creative marketing strategies. The enthusiasm for monetization in the liquor space has been palpable, driven by the remarkable success stories of celebrity-backed spirit brands like Ryan Reynolds Aviation Gin and George Clooney's Tequila Casamigos. These high-profile exits have demonstrated the immense potential for substantial returns on investment and have fueled excitement and interest in the industry. Investors and entrepreneurs are eager to capitalize on the growing demand for unique and premium spirits, making the liquor space an enticing landscape for lucrative exits. We believe this is an exciting new area of growth for Dolphin, and we are well positioned to create significant value for our shareholders through our marketing expertise and innovative deal structure. We have incredibly high hopes for StapleGen, as you can imagine. Fingers crossed that we've got a hit on our hands. And finally, in talking about our ventures, I would like to say a few brief words about MasterCard Midnight Theater. As you heard me say in our Q4 earnings call just a few weeks ago, We have narrowed down all of our choices for a new operating partner for the restaurant and theater to a favorite group. We are in the final stages of working on that deal and anticipate we can make an announcement within the month of May. That will be an equally exciting piece of news for us. So how's that for the anticipation of three major ventures milestones all in one month? To recap, Q1 2024 achieved record-setting financial results while making meaningful strides in monetizing our equity ventures. Moreover, those results are just beginning. Going forward, as we secure equity ownership in an increasing number of new ventures, we believe the growth potential becomes exponential. As we seek to enter multiple ventures opportunities in the next two to three years, this unique model allows us to rapidly scale a portfolio of equity-owned opportunities with minimal cash investments required, which is to say that while we believe that today's results validate our strategy, we are really just getting started. Envision the amplifying impact on our top and bottom lines as our ventures portfolio expands to include a dozen or more ownership stakes using this low-cost approach. Simply put, and in one sentence, we believe that our ability to sustainably replicate this strategy unlocks a future of compounding returns and value creation. With that said, let me turn it over to Mirta to review the quarter's financial details. Mirta?