Viacom Says Turnaround On Track in Bid to Shore Up Business -- Update
April 25 2018 - 10:05AM
Dow Jones News
By Imani Moise
Viacom Inc. reported easing sales declines and rising profit in
the most recent quarter, as the media company works to prove its
turnaround plan remains on track.
Viacom, like other linear-television channel providers, has been
hurt when viewers cut their cable subscriptions from both lower
advertising payments and a decline in affiliate revenue generated
through subscription fees paid to cable companies. On Wednesday the
company, whose channels include MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy
Central, said it has started to see sequential improvement in those
trends.
World-wide advertising and affiliate revenue was essentially
flat in Viacom's latest quarter as international growth offset
domestic declines.
Revenue has also benefited from the growth of streaming services
that carry its channels and typically pay higher rates than
traditional distributors.
The company said its Paramount Pictures studio returned to
profitability under new management during the period and has new
momentum from the success of "A Quiet Place," the first release
from the current management's slate. Film and entertainment sales
fell 14% to due fewer titles, but the segment swung to a profit on
an adjusted basis.
Overall for its second quarter Viacom reported a profit of $256
million, or 64 cents a share, up from $121 million, or 30 cents a
share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, earnings rose to 92
cents a share from 79 cents a share a year earlier.
Revenue fell 3.3% to $3.15 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 79
cents a share on $3.04 billion in revenue.
The company didn't give an update on its potential tie-up with
CBS Corp in its earnings release Wednesday.
Viacom shares fell 0.7% in morning trading. Shares have fallen
0.3% this year, while the S&P 500 has declined 1.6%.
Write to Imani Moise at imani.moise@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 25, 2018 09:50 ET (13:50 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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