Viacom reported second-quarter earnings and revenue Thursday that topped analysts’ expectations, as the company continues to grow its Paramount business.
Here’s what the company reported vs. what the Street expected:
- Earnings per share: 79 cents adjusted vs. an estimate of 59 cents, according to Thomson Reuters analysts’ estimates.
- Revenue: $3.26 billion vs. an estimate of $3.025 billion, Thomson Reuters analysts said.
Viacom said its sales figures were driven higher for the quarter as its Paramount division achieved significant revenue gains across all of its business units: theatrical, home entertainment, licensing and ancillary.
” … we executed quickly on our strategic plan, making significant organizational changes to better focus and align Viacom’s brand portfolio and ensure strong leadership, including the appointment of Jim Gianopulos to chart a new course at Paramount,” Viacom CEO Bob Bakish said in a statement.
Despite the earnings beat, the media conglomerate reported a 60 percent decline in quarterly profit, which Viacom said was hurt by higher programming costs and a continuing decline in domestic advertising sales.
Viacom’s Class B shares were trading up less than half a percent Thursday in premarket trading following the report, after closing Wednesday down nearly 8 percent.
Just earlier this year, Viacom mentioned a turnaround of Paramount and its film studio’s relatively new television business should drive the company’s earnings higher in future quarters.
CEO Bakish has also said he wants to focus specifically on boosting the company’s cable franchise business.
Bakish, who was formerly head of Viacom’s international business, became permanent CEO in December after the Redstone family abandoned exploring a merger of Viacom and CBS, which is also controlled by the family.
Viacom, owner of MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon, has been making modifications to its business operations lately, following years of declining domestic ad revenues and poor ratings from younger viewers who now watch more content online. Paramount has also suffered from a lack of noteworthy box-office hits.
Viacom has said it will focus more resources on its six “flagship” brands: Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., MTV, Comedy Central, BET and Paramount.
As of Wednesday’s close, Viacom’s Class B shares have risen more than 11 percent for the year-to-date period but are down about 4.5 percent over the past 12 months.
Source: FactSet
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
—CNBC’s Elizabeth Gurdus contributed to this report.