Viacom Posts Lower Q4 Revenues

NEW YORK: Revenues for the fourth quarter at Viacom fell by 5 percent to $3.8 billion, largely due to lower filmed entertainment revenues and a drop in advertising revenues.

Adjusted net earnings for the period were down by 16 percent to $614 million. Media networks revenues were up 5 percent to $2.8 billion, thanks to growth in affiliate fees and international advertising revenues, partially offset by declines in domestic advertising revenues. U.S. ad revenues were down by 7 percent due to a decline in TV ratings, the company said. Growth in Europe, led by Channel 5, helped boost international ad revenues. On the film side, revenues were down 24 percent to $1.03 billion, with a 20-percent drop in theatrical revenues and a 54-percent drop in home entertainment revenues.

For the year, revenues were down 4 percent to $13.27 billion. Media networks contributed $10.49 billion, a 5-percent gain, while filmed entertainment revenues were 23 percent lower.

Commenting on the results, Philippe Dauman, the president and CEO of Viacom, said: “Viacom's fourth quarter and year-end results are indicative of our progress in key areas, including recent ratings improvement and renewals of important distribution agreements. Our strategy of increasing and accelerating investment in original content and expanding our profitable international footprint are among the major factors driving this success, which we believe will continue in 2016 and beyond. We are making great progress in tackling industry-wide inefficiencies in audience measurement, while expanding our audience reach with landmark distribution agreements. Viacom's family of Media Networks are the most watched by highly coveted younger audiences, and we are building engagement on all platforms, leading to first-of-their-kind marketing opportunities with our advertising partners. Our investment in content continues to grow, supporting an unprecedented amount of quality original programming and a more robust slate of films. In addition, in fiscal 2015 we launched 21 channels overseas—including six in India—fueling the fastest international growth in our history.”