TORONTO — For its fiscal third quarter ended May 31, 2021, Corus Entertainment enjoyed strong year-over-year revenue growth as the company saw recovery in its advertising revenue and also added a significant number of paying subscribers on its streaming platforms, which includes StackTV and Nick+.
As of today, Corus has 600,000 paid streaming subscribers, an increase from the more than 500,000 paying subscribers it had as of April 9, 2021, when it reported its Q2 2021 results. (Corus has added roughly 100,000 paying subscribers on its streaming platforms every three months since January 2021.) Company executives said about 80% of the subscribers are to StackTV, which is only available to Amazon Prime Video customers and 20% to Nick+, which is available on Prime and on AppleTV channels.
“Our third quarter marks a significant milestone for Corus, highlighted by strong operating execution with significant revenue and segment profit growth across all of our businesses,” said Doug Murphy, president and CEO of Corus, in a press release today announcing the company’s Q3 2021 results.
“We delivered impressive double-digit growth in television and radio advertising revenue, yet another quarter of robust paid streaming subscriber gains, and a fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in our content revenue. Our unwavering focus is on advancing our strategic priorities and the merits of our operating and financial discipline is increasingly evident.
“Our fall schedule on Global TV is one of the strongest we have seen in many years. This quarter, we completed a highly successful refinancing and delivered strong free cash flow further strengthening our balance sheet and increasing our financial flexibility. We are confident that the strategic momentum at Corus is lasting and when coupled with meaningful progress on our long-term leverage goals will unlock additional value for our shareholders in the quarters and years ahead.”
Reporting highlights from its Q3 financial results, Corus’s press release says its advertising revenues have improved sequentially from a pandemic-driven low in the third quarter of 2020.
Corus’s consolidated revenues increased 15% to reach $403 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to $349 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2020. The company’s television revenue ($380 million) increased 15%, while its radio revenue ($23 million) jumped 31% in Q3 2021 compared to Q3 2020.
Drilling down into its TV revenue increase, Corus’s TV advertising revenues increased 22% in Q3, while TV subscriber revenues increased 2%, and merchandising, distribution and other revenues increased 21%.
The company’s consolidated segment profit increased 17% to $130.7 million in Q3 2021, compared to $111.3 million in Q3 2020. Corus’s net income attributable to shareholders was $40.7 million ($0.20 basic earnings per share) for the third quarter of 2021, and free cash flow was $64.7 million for the quarter.
For more on Corus’s Q3 2021 financial results, please click here.
