MONTREAL – Decreases in operating income in its television division helped TVA Group reduce its net loss to shareholders to $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2013, compared with the $39.9 million net loss in the same quarter of 2012.
TVA’s television operating income was reduced by 3.8% to $111 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2013, compared to the same period a year earlier, which the company attributes to the deconsolidation of Sun News. Most of the decrease in the net loss recorded in the first quarter was due to a $32.2 million goodwill impairment charge recorded in the publishing segment, which TVA calculated after adopting new rates for waste recovery costs provided by Quebec municipalities.
“The television segment’s first quarter 2013 financial results showed improvement from the first quarter of 2012, despite a decrease in TVA Network’s advertising revenues,” said Pierre Dion, president and CEO of the corporation, in a release. “Our French-language specialty services registered a 23.4% increase in subscription revenues, confirming the growing popularity of our specialty services and their content.”
First quarter revenue for television and publishing also decreased by 3.4% and 0.06% to $97 million and $15 million, respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2012.
Magazine newsstand revenues continued to decline year-over-year while advertising revenues were relatively stable, said Dion. The company is working on ways to contain costs in this division while developing new strategies to boost newsstand sales during the rest of the year.
