CALGARY – Radio segment profit increased by 21% to $22.2 million, while television segment profit was up 15% to $34.7 million for Corus Entertainment as the company reported its third quarter results today.
As for ad revenue, radio posted a 12% increase while the specialty television ad revenue climbed 16%. Corus owns 53 Canadian radio stations and a number of specialty TV channels such as YTV, CMT, W and Scream.
Nelvana, the company’s content division, contributed to the momentum with positive earnings and cash flow for the fourth consecutive quarter, says the company.
"We were very pleased with our performance in the third quarter. Radiocmarkets, both locally and nationally, continued to be strong and Corus was well positioned to benefit. Our specialty television networks achieved excellent sales growth, offsetting hockey-related losses at our local TV stations," said John Cassaday, president and CEO.
Overall net income in the quarter was $19.4 million, which compares favourable to a loss of $51.2 million in the same quarter last year. The loss last year was primarily due to writedowns at Nelvana.
Corus Television contributed quarterly revenue of $90.5 million, up 7% from last year’s third quarter. Corus Radio revenue was $68.3 million, up 12% from last year.
Nelvana revenue was $14.6 million, down from $19.9 million last year. Only 28 Nelvana episodes were produced in the quarter, as compared to 40 in the previous year. In addition, Beyblade merchandise sales also declined. Segment profit was $100,000, compared to a loss last year of $89.3 million.
Consolidated revenue for the nine-month period ended May 31 was $507.8 million up slightly from the $503.8 million posted in Q3 2004. Consolidated segment profit was $152.7 million, compared to $47.6 million last year. Net income was $61.5 million ($1.43 per share diluted), compared to a loss of $37.2 million last year (loss of $0.87 per share).
Television revenue (ad sales plus subscriptions) was $270.8 million, up 7% over last year. Specialty advertising revenue growth was 14%. Television segment profit for the first nine months of the year was $110.0 million, up 14% from $96.3 million.
Radio year-to-date revenue was $187.4 million, compared to $169.6 million last year, an 11% increase. Segment profit was $53.2 million, compared to $43.8 million, an increase of 21% from last year.
"We are very pleased with our radio results in particular. Our strong competitive position and a continued improvement in our financial performance has been very satisfying," added Heather Shaw, executive chair of Corus Entertainment Inc. "Additionally, our recent announcement of the launch of our non-linear channel Vortex On Demand with Comcast for the U.S. market clearly marks a new era for delivery of our content as well as recognition of the appeal of Nelvana’s programming library."
