Viacom Reports Lower Sales, Profits Amid Fewer Films

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 [e-mail]

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