NBC Universal’s third quarter earnings declined 15 percent, its current corporate parent, General Electric, announced on Thursday. Net earnings were $625 million.
NBCU revenues were flat at $4.07 billion during the quarter, GE said, but "NBCU revenue and operating profit were favorable compared to the year-ago period after adjusting for 2009 transactions.” Those transactions include a one-time gain from increasing its stake in A&E Television Networks during the same quarter last year.
When taking those into consideration, NBCU's operating profit actually increased 5 percent.
"Given that the economy, although improving, is still far from robust, these are excellent results driven by superior execution throughout our operations," soon-to-be-ex-chief Jeff Zucker wrote in a memo to employees. (Scroll down to read the full memo.) "Looking just at our operations, these are our best third-quarter results since the NBC-Universal merger more than six years ago. Truly a record performance."
The film division's operating profits were up 57 percent, Zucker noted, due to the surprise success of "Despicable Me," which stands to earn more than $500 million at the worldwide box office.
During an earnings call Friday, the company touted its cable channels, including Oxygen, Bravo and CNBC, and noted ratings are up 4 percent for its fall network television slate.
And Jay Leno, executives boasted, "continues as #1 in late night."
The company is awaiting regulatory approval of the $30 billion mega-merger with Comcast. GE said it expects to receive approval by year's end.
Here are the highlights:
And here's soon-to-be ex-chief Jeff Zucker's full memo to employees:
GE reported its earnings today, and I wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate everyone on NBCU’s very strong results. Looking just at our operations, these are our best third-quarter results since the NBC-Universal merger more than six years ago. Truly a record performance.
Although our segment profit as reported by GE shows us down, this is driven by the impact of one-time, non-operating events and transactions that took place in the third quarter of last year (such as the one-time gain from the change in our interest in A&E Networks). On an operating basis, our profit was up 32% versus last year (or 5% excluding the impact of charges taken by certain divisions in the third quarter last year). Given that the economy, although improving, is still far from robust, these are excellent results driven by superior execution throughout our operations.
We had exceptional performances from a number of our divisions, including Cable Entertainment, Local Media, Film, and Theme Parks. Cable Entertainment posted a double-digit increase in operating profit, behind great results at each of our networks. Local Media was up an amazing 87%, as increased revenues from a resurging local ad market hit the bottom line. Film op profit was up 57%, driven by “Despicable Me,” which performed well ahead of expectations.
