MONTREAL – Second quarter profits were up 10% at Astral as the company reported what could be one of its last quarterly reports as a standalone company before being gobbled up by BCE.
Consolidated net earnings for the second quarter ended February 29, 2012 were $38.2 million, up from $34.7 million for the same period last year, while consolidated revenues increased slightly to $233.5 million over $232.7 in 2011. EBITDA rose by 3% to $66.0 million from $64.3 year-over-year.
The Montreal-based company said Wednesday that 4% and 1% increases, respectively, in television advertising and subscriber-related revenue contributed to the division’s revenue of $140.5 million. Astral added 1,000 new pay-television subscribers for The Movie Network and Super Écran over the quarter, bringing its total to 1.869 million.
Radio revenue dropped 3% to $74.2 million, while out-of-home revenue grew 8% to end the quarter at $18.7 million.
"I am very pleased by the company's growth in the second quarter and by our properties' continued ability to compete aggressively in a market environment that remains challenging," said president and CEO Ian Greenberg, in a statement. "Once again, consumers' and advertisers' appetite for our media brands, the soundness of our development strategy and the strength of our treasury management practices have enabled us to record Astral's 62nd consecutive quarter of profitable growth."
Greenberg also confirmed that Astral, with Corus, is moving forward with its previously announced plans to launch a Canadian version of the HBO Go app which will allow certain shows to be watched on a subscriber’s mobile device.
