MONTREAL – Quebecor’s television division, TVA Group, reported a net income of $6.5 million the first quarter of 2009, compared with a net income of $5.5 million for the corresponding quarter of 2008.
Growth in the television sector’s operating income of $937,000, or 10.2%, compared with the same year-ago quarter, was explained by a 4.2% growth in operating income for its specialty services and a 4.2% growth in advertising revenues for all properties, of which 90% was from the broadcast of its popular Star Academie show.
In the publishing sector, news stand revenues dropped 9.9%, while advertising revenues decreased slightly by 2.9% compared with the first quarter of 2008. Its distribution sector sustained an operating loss of $81,000, compared with operating income of $17,000 for the same quarter of 2008.
The company’s consolidated operating income was $12.3 million, compared with $11.0 million for the same quarter of 2008.
Cash flows from operating activities used during the quarter were $5.6 million compared with $3.2 million for the corresponding year-ago quarter. This increase is essentially due to the net change in non-cash working capital items, mainly in accounts receivable.
In other company news, Quebecor Media has integrated Canoe into the Sun Media group, to “seize the opportunities available on the new media landscape by combining assets from its Internet and newspaper operations”.
“The integration of Canoe into Sun Media will optimize the strategic alignment and efficiency of the operations by providing strong, unified leadership and will accelerate our multimedia evolution, in particular by eliminating organizational silos that have become obsolete in the multi-platform era," said Quebecor Media president and CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau, in the press release.
Canoe.ca Mobile was recently chosen as an ‘Official Honoree’ in the news category at the 13th presentation of the Webby Awards. Often referred to as the Oscars of the Internet, the Webby Awards recognizes sites and teams that demonstrate a standard of excellence.
