Viacom Profit Dips in Q3

NEW YORK: Quarterly revenues declined 11 percent to $3.06 billion at Viacom, which is reporting lower income from its films business, while adjusted net earnings for its fiscal third quarter were down 4 percent to $591 million.

Media Networks revenues increased $6 million to $2.60 billion, primarily due to higher affiliate fees. Worldwide and domestic affiliate revenues rose 2 percent. U.S. ad revenues decreased 9 percent, due to a decline in traditional ratings. Worldwide advertising revenues decreased 2 percent, which reflects a 58 percent gain in international advertising revenues driven principally by Channel 5.

Filmed Entertainment revenues decreased by 44 percent to $479 million, primarily due to a decline in theatrical revenues of 92 percent related to the timing of the summer season theatrical slate. In the prior year, Transformers: Age of Extinction was released in the third quarter, while this year's summer tentpoles, Terminator: Genisys and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, were widely released in Q4. Worldwide home entertainment revenues decreased 30 percent, to $199 million in the quarter.

Sumner M. Redstone, the executive chairman of Viacom, said, “Viacom is meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing media landscape by creating exciting, unique content that connects with audiences on all platforms. Our management team is positioning Viacom for success, and I am confident that we have the strategies in place to thrive.”

Philippe Dauman, the president and CEO of Viacom, added, “Viacom continues to drive change in our business, creating unprecedented levels of original content, forging innovative marketing and distribution partnerships, and prioritizing international growth through organic expansion and strategic investments. Our Media Networks are quickly bringing innovative data-based advertising products to market, broadening our sales capabilities and developing new solutions for marketing partners that capture the full scope and depth of our powerful multiplatform brands. We introduced several popular new series in the third quarter, including Lip Sync Battle and Scream and expanded agreements with important distribution partners. Paramount also set the stage for the return of one of the studio's most successful franchises, Mission: Impossible, and is anticipating the broadcast premiere of the first Paramount Television production, Minority Report, next month.

"Underpinning this, we are operating more efficiently than ever, accelerating content development and delivering programming more quickly to audiences on all screens. We maintain a strong balance sheet, giving us significant financial flexibility and we remain committed to resuming Viacom's share repurchase program in October."