Viacom Swings to a Profit but Misses Expectations
April 28 2016 - 8:07AM
Dow Jones News
By Lisa Beilfuss
Viacom Inc. swung to a profit in its latest quarter but results
fell short of expectations as the media giant continues to grapple
with shifts in how people consume media.
Shares in Viacom have tumbled nearly 40% over the past year,
reflecting weak ratings and concerns over the rise of cord-cutting.
The stock got a boost recently on a report that Viacom and Dish
Network Corp. renewed their carriage agreement and avoided service
interruptions, pushing the stock into positive territory on the
year.
The company is in the midst of selling a piece of Paramount
Pictures, a gem in Sumner Redstone's media empire. Despite
struggling at the box office, Paramount has said it is fielding
interest from three dozen companies and is looking for an investor
to help boost its international and digital businesses. Viacom
didn't provide an update on a potential transaction in its news
release Thursday.
The New York company, which owns channels including MTV,
Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, said revenue from its media
networks business, its biggest, fell 2.9% in its March quarter.
Operating income in the segment dropped 11%, while Viacom's film
business turned to a loss in the quarter.
"We are responding to industry consumption shifts," Chief
Executive Philippe Dauman said Thursday, adding that Viacom is
"generating meaningful results" in content creation, audience
measurement and distribution. "There is much more work to be done,
but we see the path to growth ahead," Mr. Dauman said.
Over all, the company reported a profit of $303 million, or 76
cents a share, up from a loss of $53 million, or 13 cents, a year
earlier. Excluding restructuring costs, among other items, earnings
per share fell to 76 cents from $1.16.
Revenue slipped 2.5% to $3.0 billion. Analysts projected $1.43
in adjusted earnings per share and $3.21 billion in revenue,
according to Thomson Reuters.
Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 28, 2016 07:52 ET (11:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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