Viacom Beats on Q2 Earnings Despite Domestic TV, Box Office Declines

Viacom's logo on the iconography of a dollar bill

Viacom topped Wall Street’s financial expectations for its fiscal second quarter of 2018 when its Paramount Pictures film division returned to profitability.

The publicly traded corporation posted earnings of 92 cents per share on $3.15 billion in revenue. Media analysts had forecast earnings per share (EPS) of 79 cents on $3.04 billion in revenue, according to a Yahoo Finance-compiled consensus.

Viacom’s positive results came despite the fact that its domestic TV ratings and subscribers both slipped from the comparable quarter last year. Additionally, Paramount Pictures’ box office revenue plummeted 79 percent year over year, which can be at least partially written off due to the release of fewer films and the shift from a theatrical release for “Cloverfield Paradox” to a licensing deal with Netflix.

Also Read: Viacom Counters Initial CBS Offer With $14.7 Billion Valuation, Wants Bob Bakish as President-COO

Of course, all of the above was factored into estimates. Overall, Viacom’s revenue ticked down, though it’s operating income and EPS rose versus Q2 2017 — tax reform sure helped the latter, and international performance at the networks kept things pretty steady.

CEO Bob Bakish is pleased with this latest stage in his turnaround mission.

“Viacom continued to accelerate progress against its strategic priorities, delivering improvements across key metrics in the quarter,” the president and said in written remarks accompanying the company’s financials. “Our flagship brands increased audience share among important demos for the fourth consecutive quarter, and we saw sequential improvements in domestic advertising and affiliate revenue performance. Internationally, Viacom continued its winning streak, achieving double-digit revenue and profit gains in the quarter while expanding its global footprint through new channel launches and innovative mobile distribution deals across Europe and Asia. Our cost transformation initiatives are well under way; we anticipate more than $100 million in cost savings in fiscal 2018, and now expect over $300 million in run-rate savings in fiscal 2019 and beyond.”

Also Read: Viacom Rejects CBS' Initial Acquisition Offer

“At Paramount Pictures, turnaround efforts have firmly taken hold as the studio improved margins and returned to profitability,” he continued. “This month’s outstanding box-office performance of ‘A Quiet Place,’ the first film produced and released under the new team at Paramount, is a clear sign of our progress.”

Of course, he’s happy with “A Quiet Place,” though those results aren’t factored into this quarter.

Bakish and other Viacom executives will host a conference call at 10 a.m. ET to discuss Q2 in greater detail.

Also Read: Comcast Makes $31 Billion Cash Offer for Sky, UK Company Scraps Fox Deal

Shares of VIAB stock closed $30.92 on Tuesday, down 14 cents from Monday. The market reopens for regular trading at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Viacom and CBS have been in negotiations to potentially merge again. Disagreements over the valuation of Viacom and a high-level post for Bakish are the two key issues currently keeping them an arm’s length (or more) from one another.

The two National Amusements, Inc.-controlled companies split back in 2006.

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While all eyes were on AT&T's $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, announced in late 2016 but facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department, there were plenty of other megadeals in media, tech and entertainment that kept investment bankers busy in 2017.

Here are some of the biggest deals of the year:
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Disney to acquire most of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion

In a massive deal that could change the entertainment industry even more than AT&T-Time Warner, Disney announced plans to acquire Fox's film and TV studios and much of its non-broadcast television business, including regional sports networks and cable networks such as FX, FXX and Nat Geo. Disney would also pick up Fox’s stake in the European pay-TV giant Sky — and be better positioned to win regulatory approval to complete the acquisition of the 61 percent of the company it does not already own.
Discovery Communications agrees to buy Scripps Networks Interactive for $11.9 billion

The merger of two cable powerhouses brings together channels including Discovery, Science, Food Network and HGTV – and could give the combined company a stronger position as pay-TV continues to migrate to the internet.
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Sinclair Broadcast Group agrees to buy Tribune Media for $3.8 billion

This deal, if approved, would give conservative-leaning Sinclair control of 223 stations in 108 markets, including 39 of the top 50, covering 72 percent of households in the country. And it's only possible under rule changes implemented by new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
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Cineworld offers to buy Regal Cinemas for more than $3 billion

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Cineworld/Regal
Meredith Corp. acquires Time Inc. for $2.8 billion

The magazine megadeal is a sign of changing times in the publishing industry, with the owner of esteemed brands like Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated selling to the parent of Better Homes and Gardens and Country Life – backed by $650 million from big-time conservative donors the Koch brothers.
Meredith/Time
Verizon acquires Straight Path Communications for $2.3 billion

Straight Path may not be a household name, but it was the subject of a bidding war between AT&T and Verizon. The company is one of the largest owners of millimeter wave spectrum, seen as key to the buildout of 5G networks, which should power much faster mobile internet -- better for video -- in the near future.
Verizon/Straight Path
Disney buys the rest of BAMTech for $1.6 billion

The Mouse House jumped into internet TV in a major way in 2017, announcing upcoming Disney and ESPN-branded streaming services and acquiring the rest of streaming tech company BAMTech to power those products.
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Entercom buys CBS Radio for $1.5 billion

CBS Radio was intended to be spun off from its broadcast parent in an IPO, but instead it was scooped up by a competitor. The combined company, now the second largest radio business in the country, owns and operates 244 stations in 47 markets.
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MGM buys the rest of Epix for $1 billion

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Rewind 2017: Media and content consolidation continued this year

While all eyes were on AT&T's $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, announced in late 2016 but facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department, there were plenty of other megadeals in media, tech and entertainment that kept investment bankers busy in 2017.

Here are some of the biggest deals of the year:

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