US entertainment giant Viacom withstood ongoing pressures in the advertising marketplace and has reported a profit for the first quarter of 2003. The corporation has also agreed a deal to take full control of the the Comedy Central network.
In the three months to March, Viacom, the world’s third largest media company, saw revenues rise 7% year on year to $6.05 billion. Taking into account changes in accountancy rules, the company reported net earnings of $462 million, up from $367 million in the same quarter last year.
Advertising sales in the radio division proved disappointing but the cable and television operations performed well and overall results were ahead of analysts’ projections. Sumner Redstone, Viacom’s chairman and chief executive officer, has expressed confidence in the state of the advertising economy (see Viacom Chief Sees Advertising Recovery In 2003) and believes that his firm’s prospects are good.
“Our ability to deliver results to shareholders speaks of the quality and diversity of business lines as well as the superior performance of our management team,” he said. “These factors, supported by our strong balance sheet, will continue to drive our results for the rest of 2003 and beyond.”
The purchase of AOL Time Warner’s 50% stake in Comedy Central for $1.23 billion should be completed this quarter. Viacom already owns the other half of the popular US network.
