Viacom's Domestic Ad Revenue Declines
August 03 2017 - 5:25PM
Dow Jones News
By Austen Hufford
Viacom Inc. beat revenue and profit forecasts in its latest
quarter, but saw a decline in domestic advertising revenue.
In recent weeks, Viacom had entered talks to acquire Scripps
Networks Interactive Inc., but eventually left the process, paving
the way for Discovery Communications Inc. to strike a $11.9 billion
deal for the cable TV programmer.
In its third quarter, domestic advertising revenues declined 2%
to $955 million from a year earlier, as higher pricing was offset
by a lower number of views. International advertising grew 14% to
$280 million as the company bought one of Argentina's main
free-to-air channels for $345 million last year.
In its media networks unit, revenue grew 2% to $2.56 billion,
with affiliate revenue growing 4% and total advertising revenue
increasing 2%. In June, the company's MTV channel saw
year-over-year ratings growth for the first time since 2011.
Revenue at its filmed entertainment unit rose 36% to $847
million, driven by the latest "Transformers" movie.
The media giant has been working to reduce its hefty debt load.
At the end of June, total debt outstanding was $11.17 billion,
compared with $11.91 billion at the end of last September.
In all for the quarter, Viacom's profit rose to $683 million, or
$1.70 a share, compared with $432 million, or $1.09 a share, in the
prior-year quarter. Excluding certain items, Viacom earned $1.17 a
share.
Revenue grew 8.3% to $3.36 billion.
Viacom shares rose 0.3% to $41.30 in after-hours trading.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 03, 2017 17:10 ET (21:10 GMT)
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