Paramount Global Q2 revenue stands at $7.6 billion
The company said it has realised a gain of $168 million from dilution of stake in Viacom18
Paramount Global has reported a 2% drop in its total revenue in the second quarter of calendar year 2023 at $7.6 billion but has realised a gain of $168 million from dilution of its stake in Viacom18 from 49% to 13%.
The amount of $168 million mentioned in the financial statement “reflects a gain recognized on our retained interest in Viacom18 following the discontinuance of equity method accounting resulting from the dilution of our interest from 49% to 13%”, the company said.
In April 2023, Paramount’s stake in Viacom18 reduced to 13% from 49% after the latter received investment from Reliance Industries Ltd and Bodhi Tree Systems.
According to its financial report for the quarter ending June 30, 2023, Paramount Global recorded an adjusted OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) of $606 million.
Paramount+, SVOD service of Paramount Global, reported a revenue growth of 47% while its total DTC ad revenue increased by 21%, and global viewing hours on Paramount+ and Pluto TV, ad-supported streaming service, were up 35% year-over-year, the report said.
“Despite the environment, TV media continued to contribute significant earnings. As we look forward, we will continue to be guided by our content-first approach and seek to maximize its value across platforms and revenue streams, while also operating with the utmost efficiency through this year of peak streaming investment,” said Bob Bakish, President and CEO, Paramount Global, in the statement.
Paramount Global also reached an agreement to sell book publisher Simon & Schuster to private equity firm KKR for $1.62 billion. The company expects to use the proceeds from the sale to pay down the debt.
It said that this transaction will yield approximately $1.3 billion in net proceeds, resulting in a roughly 0.5x improvement in net leverage when the deal closes following regulatory review.
The company said that its affiliate and subscription revenue grew a strong 12% in Q2, “demonstrating once again that the combination of traditional and streaming yield a net growth for our business.”
It said that Paramount delivered strong D2C subscription revenue growth of 47%, largely driven by Paramount+ where it benefited from subscriber additions, improvements in ARPU and reductions in churn.
The company reported TV Media revenue of $ 5,157 million, which is 2% down from the corresponding quarter last year.
It also reported a drop in revenue from filmed entertainment at $831 million compared to $1,363 million last year.
“The year-over-year change in TV media advertising was similar to Q1. In the national domestic market, we are seeing strength in key categories, including pharma, retail, movies and travel. That said, we see linear advertising recovering more slowly than digital, and we expect the Q3 rate of change for TV media advertising will be relatively similar to Q2 with improvement in Q4,” said Naveen K. Chopra - Paramount Global - Executive VP & CFO.
