Viacom's U.S. Revenue Lags Amid Declines in Cable Subscribers
November 16 2017 - 11:26AM
Dow Jones News
By Allison Prang
Viacom Inc. reported a rise in revenue in its latest quarter on
gains from advertising on its media networks and filmed
entertainment units.
But while the media company made progress in reducing expenses,
its profit fell short of analysts' expectations as domestic ad
revenue was flat and less money came in from affiliates amid
declines in cable subscribers.
Shares in Viacom, which are down 20% this year, were flat in
premarket trading Thursday.
Viacom announced Wednesday it had reached a new agreement with
Charter Communications Inc., confirming tiers for cable customers
to access its networks.
While Viacom's eight most popular networks will be available on
Spectrum's base package, customers seeking more channels will have
to watch them in more expensive package tiers.
The companies also agreed that Viacom -- the parent of networks
such as Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central -- would make original
content for Charter's Spectrum subscribers.
Viacom said while domestic affiliate revenue fell 3% to $948
million in the quarter, it benefited from rate increases.
Media networks division revenue rose 3% to $2.55 billion, as the
company reported double-digit percentage gains in world-wide
advertising.
Filmed entertainment rose 2% to $789 million, but domestic
revenues declined by 11%.
Revenue from licensing was up 30%, which Viacom said benefited
from more money coming in from Paramount Television productions as
well as film-licensing arrangements. Theatrical revenue and home
entertainment revenue fell 43% and 5%, respectively.
For the fourth quarter, Viacom reported a profit of $674
million, or $1.67 per share, up 167% from a year ago. Excluding
gains on asset sales and a tax benefit, Viacom's adjusted profit
rose 14% to $310 million, or 77 cents a share. Analysts polled by
FactSet expected Viacom to earn a profit of 86 cents a share.
Revenue rose 3% to $3.32 billion, ahead of analysts' estimates
of $3.23 billion.
Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 16, 2017 11:11 ET (16:11 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024