Discovery Q3 revenues up 18% to $1 bn

MUMBAI: US non fiction media company Discovery has reported an 18 per cent jump in the revenues for its third quarter, ended 30 September, 2011.

The company?s revenues surged to $1.09 billion while adjusted Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) increased by 15 per cent to $479 million.

Net income from continuing operations increased to $238 million. Discovery also repurchased 9.8 million shares at an average price of $36.30 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $355 million.

Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav said, "The strength of Discovery?s brands and the value of our content to consumers, distributors and advertisers alike were further demonstrated in our third quarter financial results. The appeal of our programming allowed us to continue to take advantage of the sustained health of the global ad market and further leverage existing and emerging distribution platforms worldwide.

"The breadth of our global distribution enables us to capitalise on the increasing penetration of traditional distribution models, while the diversity and appeal of our content allows us to strategically leverage evolving delivery methods. We remain focused on generating sustained financial results while thoughtfully investing in our brands and platforms so that we can take advantage of new and existing distribution opportunities around the globe."

Third jump in revenues by $169 million was led by 19 per cent growth at US Networks and 19 per cent growth at international networks. OIBDA growth was driven by a nine per cent increase at US Networks and a 20 per cent increase at international networks. The domestic results benefitted from significant additional licensing revenues under an extended and expanded licensing agreement.

Third quarter net income from continuing operations, available to Discovery stockholders of $238 million, increased by $77 million compared to $161 million in the year ago period. The current quarter results reflect the strong operating performance partially offset by higher taxes, the company clarified.

Free cash flow was $314 million for the third quarter, a decrease of $32 million from the third quarter of 2010, as the increased operating performance was more than offset by higher long-term incentive compensation and tax payments, as well as lower working capital.