Earnings: Viacom Profits Drop 32 Percent On Ad Declines; Even Rock Band Sales Disappoint

As the media slump continues, Viacom (NYSE: VIA) has been hit hard in Q2, as profits fell 32 percent to $277 million ($0.46 cents per share) from last year’s $407 million ($0.65 cents per share). On an adjusted basis, which doesn’t include severance charges for example, EPS was 49 cents. The company’s revenue fell 14 percent to $3.3 billion. According to Thomson Reuters’ analysts consensus, Viacom was expected to bring in $0.48 cents on revenue of $3.5 billion, the WSJ reported.

The cable networks segment, which houses MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, posted a 12 percent drop in earnings. The segment’s revenues slid 8 percent. The cable networks’ ad dollars dropped 8 percent worldwide as the soft retail market was blamed for the disappointing sales of the Rock Band video game.

2Q 2009 2Q 2008 Analysts’ Estimates For 2009
EPS $0.49 $0.64 $0.48
Net Income $277M $407M
Revenue $3.3B $3.8B

Earnings release | Webcast (8:30 AM EDT)

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