Viacom Delivers Full-Year, Q4 Gains

Revenues were up 6 percent in the fiscal year and 3 percent in Q4 at Viacom, powered in part by improved advertising and affiliate revenues at its international networks.

Fourth-quarter revenues were $3.3 billion, delivering net earnings of $674 million, more than double the same period last year. For the fiscal year, net earnings were up 30 percent to $1.9 billion on revenues of $13.3 billion.

“In the fourth quarter and full year, we made strong progress against our plan to fundamentally stabilize and revitalize Viacom, with top line gains in both Media Networks and Filmed Entertainment segments driven by continued execution on our strategic priorities,” said Bob Bakish, president and CEO. “We saw significant ratings increases across the portfolio, which drove sequential improvement in domestic advertising; our international business continues to expand, delivering double-digit revenue increases; and Paramount is demonstrating growth across multiple revenue streams as it rebuilds the theatrical slate and continues to grow its TV production business. Additionally, we have completed several multi-year renewals of major distribution contracts, including our recent agreement with Charter, which secure broad, long-term carriage of Viacom’s networks for subscribers and expand our relationships with distributors through new, forward-looking advanced advertising and content production partnerships. We realized these achievements and established a stable base while reducing debt, improving free cash flow and strengthening our balance sheet.”

Bakish continued, “Viacom is stronger and our momentum continues to build. To accelerate our transition to long-term, sustainable growth, we are ramping up the evolution of Viacom’s media business to better serve next-generation platforms and solutions while continuing to diversify our business and strengthen our global portfolio of flagship brands. In the coming year, we will continue to focus on unleashing the full creativity and energy of Viacom to create greater value for our shareholders and audiences.”

At the media networks, quarterly revenues increased 3 percent to $2.6 billion. International revenues were up 24 percent to $593 million, with U.S. revenues falling 2 percent to $1.96 billion. Advertising revenues gained 6 percent to $1.22 billion, powered by gains from the international networks. Affiliate revenues, meanwhile, dropped slightly to $1.15 billion, while international gains were offset by reductions in the U.S. Ancillary revenues improved 5 percent to $181 million, driven by growth in international consumer products.

In the filmed entertainment segment, Q4 revenues were up 2 percent to $789 million, driven by growth in licensing revenues partially offset by lower theatrical revenues. Licensing revenues grew 30 percent to $423 million, primarily driven by higher revenues from film licensing arrangements as well as Paramount Television productions.