Strong International Growth at Discovery

SILVER SPRING: A 64 percent gain in revenues from its international networks helped drive Discovery Communication's fourth-quarter revenues to $1.5 billion, a 28 percent boost over the year-ago period, delivering a net profit of $289 million.

“Discovery’s strong 2013 results reflect the additional market share we are capturing around the globe as we further invest in our diverse content portfolio and capitalize on the growth opportunities available across the unmatched worldwide distribution platform we have developed," said David Zaslav, president and CEO. "At the same time, the strength of our balance sheet enabled us to make several strategic investments that complement our existing businesses and further bolster the long-term growth profile of the company, while also providing us with the ability to return significant capital to shareholders. As we move into 2014, we remain focused on maintaining the financial momentum we have generated consistently over the past several years while further investing in our brands and strategic growth initiatives so we can deliver additional shareholder value moving forward."

In Q4, the revenues from the international networks rose to $758 million, topping U.S. revenues of $740 million, which were up 5 percent. The international networks also reported a 47 percent gain in adjusted OIBDA to $295 million, with the U.S. networks up 5 percent to $434 million.

For the full year, meanwhile, revenues rose 23 percent to $5.5 billion, with $3 billion from the U.S., a 7 percent rise, and $2.5 billion from the international business, a 51 percent gain. U.S. OIBDA was $1.7 billion and international was $976 million.

In the U.S. business, distribution revenues rose 7 percent in the quarter to $309 million and 6 percent in the year to $1.3 billion. Advertising revenues, meanwhile, were up 4 percent in Q4 to $411 million and 8 percent in the year to $1.6 billion.

Following Discovery's expansion in Western Europe, advertising revenues more than doubled at the international networks in Q4, rising to $406 million, while in the year they doubled to $1.2 billion. Distribution revenues were $331 million in Q4, up 31 percent, and $1.2 billion in the year, up 26 percent.