Versant Q1 sees profit decline due to decline in turnover and operating costs
Versant Media said its first fiscal quarter profit fell due to erosion in its TV business and higher operating costs related to its recent spinoff of NBCUniversal, even as some of its direct-to-consumer businesses showed strength and supported its efforts to diversify revenues beyond traditional media assets.
The New York owner of MS NOW, CNBC and other cable companies said net income fell $81 million to $286 million, or $1.99 per share, from $367 million, or $2.55 per share, in the same period a year earlier. The company cited lower revenues, higher public company costs and interest expenses after its separation from NBCU parent Comcast earlier this year.
However, revenue fell just 1.1% to nearly $1.69 billion as Versant suffered subscriber losses across its networks. Versant’s ad revenue was $368 million, down 5% from the same period last year, when ad sales fell 12%. Distribution fees, meanwhile, fell 7.3% to about $1 billion.
Revenue from the company’s various direct-to-consumer businesses proved more robust, rising 9.5% to $192 million, largely due to the performance of its e-commerce businesses GolfNow and Fandango.
“We are executing our strategy by expanding the reach of our brands, deepening our connection with audiences and scaling our digital platforms,” Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said in a statement, noting that the revenue increase in the company’s direct-to-consumer business “reinforces our confidence in evolving the company over time and delivering long-term shareholder value.”
Versant has plans to strengthen its non-traditional activities. A new subscription app based on MS NOW is in development and will seek to increase the sense of community among the news and opinion channel’s followers. Versant recently acquired StockStory, an AI-powered financial insights platform that is expected to play a role in CNBC’s direct-to-consumer business.
