Viacom Says Turnaround On Track in Bid to Shore Up Business -- Update

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 [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 25, 2018 09:50 ET (13:50 GMT)

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