TORONTO – A “strong” fall television schedule generated an uptick in TV advertising revenues which in turn helped to lift first quarter revenues at Corus Entertainment, the company said Friday.
Consolidated revenues for the three months ended November 30, 2018 were $467.5 million, up 2% from $457.4 million last year, and consolidated segment profit was $191.6 million, an increase of 8% from $177.9 million in Q1 2018.
Net income attributable to shareholders for the period fell to $60.4 million from $77.7 million last year, and included business acquisition, integration and restructuring costs of $13.2 million. Adjusting for the impact of this item, however, resulted in an adjusted net income attributable to shareholders of $70.1 million. Corus added that consolidated net income attributable to shareholders was impacted by a change in accounting estimates related to the “useful life” of its television brands.
"Our first quarter results reflect disciplined execution of this year's operating plan and the continuing implementation of our longer term strategic priorities," said president and CEO Doug Murphy, in the company's press release. "We returned to growth in Television advertising revenue, driven primarily by a strong fall schedule and a significant improvement in television advertising demand. This revenue increase, coupled with an ongoing focus on expense control, resulted in considerable segment profit growth and margin improvement. The benefits of our revised capital allocation policy, when combined with our improved revenue and segment profit performance, has notably impacted our leverage metrics while increasing balance sheet strength and flexibility for the Company this quarter as we invest for future growth."
Corus’ television segment revenues for the quarter increased 3% to $426.2 million from $415.5 million year-over-year, while radio revenues dipped 2% to $41.3 million compared to $41.9 million last year.
Television segment profit grew 9% to $184.6 million from $168.6 million year-over-year, while radio segment profit fell 4% to $13.0 million from $13.5 million.
Other highlights from Corus’ Q1 financial report include:
Television
– Advertising revenues increased 4% in Q1 2019;
– Subscriber revenues were flat;
– Merchandising, distribution and other revenues were up 3%; and
– Segment profit margin of 43% in Q1 2019 compared to 41% in the prior year.
Radio
– Segment profit margin of 32% in Q1 2019 was consistent with the prior year.
