Playboy’s Prospects Improve

In the fourth quarter Playboy losses increased to $12.5 million (from $3.8 million the same period last year), as revenues sank to $33.5 million (from $39.4 million last year). For the full year PLBY Group, which also owns Honey Birdette, lost $79.4 million on revenues of $116.1 million, compared to a loss of $180.4 million on revenues of $143.0 million in 2023.

During the quarter prospects for the company were significantly improved, however, by the signing of large licensing and equity investment agreements with Byborg Enterprises, a Luxembourg based firm that offers “online entertainment” for “over 70 million daily visitors engaging with” its  streaming and technology products.  One division is LiveJasmin.com which features a large collection of “live sex cams.”

As a result, although Playboy had announced in November that it had classified its Honey Birdette brand and chain of intimate apparel stores as a “discontinued operation,” that it was looking to sell, it quickly reversed itself. “In December 2024, in connection with the successful closing of the Byborg deal, PLBY Group decided to retain the Honey Birdette business in order to focus on enhancing its growth and meaningfully increasing its value,” explained CEO Ben Kohn. “As a result, Honey Birdette was reclassified back to continuing operations from discontinued operations.”

He added that in Q4 “we made continued progress in the turnaround of Honey Birdette and its return to generating meaningful cash flow of $6.1 million for 2024. Although our gross sales were lower in Q4 due to meaningfully reducing our promotional activity, as we focus on brand health and profitability, full price sales showed year-over-year growth, and gross margins expanded to 60% from 51% in Q4. Same store sales returned to growth and were up 4% year-over-year.”

Commenting on Playboy as a whole, Kohn noted, “during 2024, we largely completed a comprehensive transformation of the company, moving to an asset-light model, reducing corporate overhead and laying the groundwork for positive free cash flow and substantial growth.” He added, “Following our extensive restructuring and the transition of our adult properties to Byborg, which we expect to largely complete by the end of June, we expect to generate approximately $120 million in revenue in 2025.” Licensing and Honey Birdette will be important sources of revenue going forward.

Above, Honey Birdette Indi three piece ($335) and two piece sets (225), on the company website.