Viacom profit rises on ad sales
Viacom Inc. reported a 16% gain in fourth-quarter earnings Thursday and said its advertising business hadn’t been hurt by the slowdown in the economy.
Philippe P. Dauman, Viacom’s chief executive, told analysts that the company also benefited from a shift of ad dollars to cable television from broadcast during the just-concluded writers strike.
Viacom earned $559.5 million, or 86 cents a share, in the quarter, up from $480.8 million, or 69 cents, in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue rose 19% to $4.25 billion from $3.57 billion.
In addition to MTV, New York-based Viacom owns VH1, Nickelodeon, BET and the Paramount movie and television studio.
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