Viacom Inc. said profit slipped in its latest quarter, due
largely to a blank summer movie slate.
Filmed entertainment revenue dropped 44% as theatrical revenue
nearly halved. Last year, Viacom's flick "Transformers: Age of
Extinction" was released during the comparable quarter, while this
year's big summer movies, including the latest Terminator
installment, were released a quarter later, the company said.
Meanwhile, Viacom's media networks segment—its largest—reported
revenue that was essentially flat from a year earlier. Excluding
the impact of currency fluctuations, revenue in the segment edged
2% higher.
The New York-based firm, which counts Nickelodeon and Comedy
Central among its networks, has been grappling with weak ratings
across all its major networks and facing concerns on Wall Street
that pay-TV providers may decide they can do without its bundle of
channels. As a result, Viacom earlier this year unveiled plans to
slash jobs and write down the value of underperforming shows.
Viacom, which has said the restructuring would result in annual
savings of about $350 million and $175 million this year, took
expenses down by 15% in the latest quarter.
Profit in the quarter fell to $591 million from $610 million. On
a per-share basis, earnings rose to $1.47 from $1.40, boosted by a
lower share count than in the year-ago period.
Revenue declined 11% to 3.06 billion.
Analysts projected $1.47 in per-share profit on $3.2 billion in
revenue, according to FactSet.
Domestic advertising revenue fell 9% because of a decline in
traditional ratings, while international ad sales posted 58% growth
driven by Channel 5. Last year, Viacom bought British Channel 5
Broadcasting Ltd. for about $760 million.
Shares in the company, down about 31% this year, were inactive
premarket.
Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires