July 15, 2015 - 5:01 AM
TORONTO - The CEO of Corus Entertainment (TSX:CJR.B) says the television and radio company had a disappointing third quarter but made progress towards future growth.
The Toronto-based company's overall revenue for the three-month period was down nearly $11 million or five per cent from the same time last year, dropping to $203.1 million from $214.0 million in the the third quarter of 2014.
The Corus television business had $162 million of revenue from specialty cable channels such as YTV, Teletoon, and W Network, down nearly five per cent. Its radio business had $40.3 million of revenue, down about seven per cent.
A writedown of the value of its assets contributed to an $8.1 million net loss attributable to shareholders for the quarter ended May 31, or nine cents per share.
Excluding the $51.8 million writedown, worth 44 cents per share, and $2.7 million or two cents per share of other costs, Corus would have had a profit of $31.6 million or 36 cents per share.
A year earlier, Corus Entertainment's net loss was $30.3 million or 36 cents per share and its adjusted profit was $41.6 million or 49 cents per share.
Corus chief executive Doug Murphy said the third quarter results were "disappointing" but the company is "confident that we are on the right track" to deepen its engagement with audiences.
"Over the next 18 months, our focus will be to fortify our brands and competitive position by leveraging our strategic investments in premium content across platforms and delivery systems," Murphy said.
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News from © The Canadian Press, 2015