Viacom posts slight revenue growth
Performance from firm’s film and television studio helps offset a drop in ad revenue
Revenue at Viacom Inc., the parent of Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, rose slightly in its latest quarter, reflecting its efforts to bolster other parts of its business beyond its cable networks.
Viacom’s fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 0.6% to $3.09 billion, as performance from Viacom’s film and television studio helped offset a decrease in ad revenue for its cable TV business. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, revenue rose 4%. Analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting $3.12 billion in revenue.
Media networks division revenue declined 2%, which the company largely attributed to foreign exchange. International revenue dropped 10%, Viacom said Tuesday, while domestic revenue was flat. Sub- scription revenue was helped by higher prices. Within media networks, Viacom said ad revenue fell 6%.
Growth for Paramount Pictures continued to be helped by “Mission: Impossible—Fallout” and “A Quiet Place,” while the “Jack Ryan” television series on Amazon Prime bolstered Viacom’s television production and licensing business. Overall filmed entertainment revenue rose 14%.
Total expenses at the media company rose 5.6% in the quarter to $2.49 billion.
Viacom reported profit fell 40% from a year earlier to $321 million, or 80 cents a share.
Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $1.12 a share, up from $1.03 a share. Analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting adjusted earnings of $1.03 a share.
Viacom reached a deal last month to buy television-streaming service Pluto TV for $340 million.
Also last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Viacom was looking at selling a majority stake in its operations in China. The company has had operations there for over 20 years.
The company’s Class B shares fell 1.5% in premarket trading.