Viacom Q4 Revenue Misses Views

reported downbeat revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter on Thursday. The New York-based company posted quarterly net income of $884 million, or $2.21 per share, compared to $732 million, or $1.72 per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations slipped 10 percent to $1.54 per share. Its revenue slipped 5 percent to $3.79 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $1.55 per share on revenue of $3.85 billion. The average estimate among 40 Estimize users was for earnings of $1.53 per share and revenue of $3.9 billion. Media Networks revenue climbed 5 percent to $2.79 billion, while Filmed Entertainment revenue shrank 24 percent to $1.03 billion in the quarter. Its adjusted operating income dropped 13 percent to $1.06 billion. For the fiscal year, Viacom repurchased 21.1 million shares. Philippe Dauman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Viacom, said, "Viacom's fourth quarter and year-end results are indicative of our progress in key areas, including recent ratings improvement and renewals of important distribution agreements. Our strategy of increasing and accelerating investment in original content and expanding our profitable international footprint are among the major factors driving this success, which we believe will continue in 2016 and beyond. We are making great progress in tackling industry-wide inefficiencies in audience measurement, while expanding our audience reach with landmark distribution agreements." Viacom shares gained 1.96 percent to close at $49.35 yesterday.