While making the announcement that Discovery Communications had agreed to buy Scripps Networks Interactive, the two companies released second-quarter financial results.
Discovery said its second-quarter net income dropped 8% to $374 million. The company attributed the downturn to currency fluctuations, losses from equity and solar investments. Earnings per share were 64 cents, down from 66 cents a year ago.
Revenues for Discovery rose 2% to $1.745 billion.
At Discovery’s U.S. networks, operating income rose 4% to $567 million. Revenues rose 2% to $890 million.
Distribution revenues were up 4%, while ad revenues were $472 million, flat versus $471 million a year ago.
Scripps Networks Interactive’s preliminary results for the second quarter shows income from operations before income taxes was $400.8 million, up 20.8%.
Revenues were up 3.6% to $925 million.
Ad revenues were up 2.5% to $663 million, and distribution revenues were up 7.3% to $239.7 million
At Scripps U.S. networks, income was flat at $390 million.
Scripps, which has been registering among the biggest gains in ad revenues in the cable programming sector, said that because of ratings and impression softness in the U.S. market, it chopped its guidance for full year U.S. revenue growth to 4% from 6%. Because of the lower revenue, it expected segment profit to be flat for the year, compared to the 3% growth it was anticipating previously.
The company said its other guidance remained unchanged.
