TORONTO – With its revenues virtually flat, Corus Entertainment saw its second quarter losses surpass $86 million, weighed down by a soft ad market and results in its radio division.
For the period ended February 28, 2015, the net loss attributable to shareholders was $86.8 million, well below $6.1 million in profits in the same period last year, which includes a non-cash radio broadcast license and goodwill impairment charge of $130.0 million, plus business acquisition, integration and restructuring costs of $8.0 million, offset by a gain on disposition of investment of $17.0 million. Removing the impact of these items results in an adjusted net income attributable to shareholders of $28.5 million in the quarter.
Consolidated revenues for the quarter were $191.5 million, comparable to $191.4 million last year, while consolidated segment profit increased 1% from $59.3 million to $59.7 million year-over-year.
Corus’ television segment revenues for the quarter were $155.2 million, up 2% from $152.1 million last year, while radio revenues fell 8% to $36.3 million from $39.3 million. Television segment profit increased 3% to $59.7 million from $58.0 million year-over-year, while radio segment profit plunged 26% to $6.2 million from $8.5 million last year.
Free cash flow fell to $59.2 million from $73.4 million in the same period of fiscal 2014.
Other highlights from Corus’ financial results include:
Television
– Specialty advertising revenues decreased 7%;
– Subscriber revenues increased 2%;
– Merchandising, distribution and other revenues jumped 32%;
– Segment profit margin of 38%.
Radio
– Segment profit margin of 17%.
"In the second quarter, the company continued to see strong audience delivery, particularly from our Women's, Family and French-language specialty networks, and improved radio ratings in certain key markets. However, as economic headwinds continue to impact advertising market confidence, we do not expect to achieve our segment profit guidance for fiscal 2015," said president and CEO Doug Murphy, in a statement. "Moving forward, we continue to make excellent progress on our four strategic priorities and we are conducting a comprehensive review of opportunities arising from this new flexible regulatory environment. Our recent landmark deal with Nickelodeon is the first example of our priorities in action as we position the company for future growth, embracing the exciting changes and opportunities emerging from the evolving regulatory and content marketplace."
