AMC Networks Q4 Results Mixed, But Full-Year 2017 Comes in Strong

Fourth-quarter net revenues at AMC Networks saw a slight dip, down 0.4 percent to $727 million, while quarterly operating income was up 56 percent to $162 million, thanks to a narrower loss at the international and other unit as compared to the previous year’s Q4.

For Q4, the decrease in net revenues reflected a decline of 1.3 percent at the national networks and an increase of 6.9 percent at international and other. The operating income increase reflected a decrease of 6.5 percent at national networks offset by a decrease of 77.6 percent in operating loss at international and other. The improvement in operating income was primarily related to the absence of $68 million in charges incurred in Q4 2016 in connection to AMC Networks International—Digital Media Center, which was sold in July 2017.

For the full year 2017, net revenues increased 1.8 percent to $2.81 billion compared to the prior year, reflecting 2.4 percent growth at national networks and a decrease of 0.6 percent at international and other. Operating income was $722 million, up 9.9 percent. National networks operating income increased 4.3 percent, while international and other operating loss decreased 26.5 percent. Adjusted operating income was $905 million, a gain of 3 percent. National networks adjusted operating income was up 4.6 percent and international and other adjusted operating income decreased 43.3 percent.

President and Chief Executive Officer Josh Sapan said: “AMC Networks delivered record financial results in 2017, increasing net revenues and adjusted operating income for the seventh consecutive year since becoming a public company, and generating significant free cash flow that we are using to invest in key strategic initiatives and our networks.”

Sapan continued: “Our recent distribution deals with the streaming services fuboTV and Philo make AMC Networks available on more virtual MVPDS than any other independent programmer, proving the value of our discrete brands and our desirable, high-quality content. Our core networks continue to perform well, with AMC delivering 4 of the top 10 dramas on cable in 2017, with The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Better Call Saul and Into the Badlands. ‘AMC Premiere’ continues to gain traction, with YouTube TV recently joining Comcast Xfinity in making our ad-free AMC streaming option available to its subscribers. Our owned streaming services Sundance Now and Shudder are seeing healthy subscriber growth and their momentum, coupled with the growth of the other streaming services we have invested in, including Acorn TV, Urban Movie Channel, and the BBC and ITV’s BritBox, highlights consumer demand for subscription streaming services with specialized content. As we continue to evolve and adapt in a world of changing viewer consumption habits, we believe AMC Networks occupies a position of unique strength and are confident that our size, our focus, and our portfolio of assets will enable us to continue to deliver strong financial results to our shareholders.”