TORONTO – A slight thaw in the TV advertising market combined with gains in its TV merchandising and distribution segment helped to boost second quarter profits at Corus Entertainment, the company said Thursday.
Net income attributable to shareholders for the quarter ended February 28, 2018 was $40.0 million, up from $24.9 million in the same period last year, which includes business acquisition, integration and restructuring costs of $2.5 million. Adjusting for the impact of this item resulted in an adjusted net income attributable to shareholders of $41.9 million in the quarter.
Consolidated revenues for the quarter were $369.5 million, up slightly from $368.2 million last year, and consolidated segment profit of $112.8 million increased by 10% from $102.7 million last year.
"This quarter has yielded positive growth in consolidated segment profit and a slight increase in consolidated revenues, with revenue gains in our Radio and Content divisions, and the continued realization of benefits from our new cost structure", said president and CEO Doug Murphy, the company's press release. "We are pleased with this quarter's results and the steady progress we are making against our strategic plan. Moving forward, Corus remains focused on maximizing and monetizing our high-value audiences, and we have a solid roadmap in place to position the organization for success over time within a changing media landscape."
Murphy added that while television advertising revenue was lower than the prior year, due in part to the Winter Olympics in the period, the decline was not as “significant” as what the Corus posted in Q1.
Television segment revenues were relatively flat for the quarter at $336.2 million versus $335.9 million year-over-year, while radio revenues rose 3% to $33.2 million from $32.3 million last year.
Television segment profit was up 2% to $103.6 million from $101.4 million year-over-year, while radio segment profit increased 9% to $6.9 million from $6.3 million.
Other highlights from Corus’ Q2 financial results include:
Television
– Advertising revenues decreased 3% in Q2 2018;
– Subscriber revenues increased 1%;
– Merchandising, distribution and other revenues jumped 28%; and
– Segment profit margin of 31% in Q2 2018 compared to 30% in the prior year.
Radio
– Segment profit margin of 21% in Q2 2018 compared to 20% in the prior year.
