Shares of Cablevision and Viacom rose Friday, though...
Shares of Cablevision and Viacom rose Friday, though analysts said it was for different reasons. Cablevision didn’t rule out a sale, though its Q2 results disappointed analysts, while Viacom’s exceeded some expectations. Cablevision’s loss of 20,000 video subscribers to 2.87…
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million total during Q2 was more than expected, wrote analysts including Citigroup’s Jason Bazinet and UBS’s John Hodulik, in notes to investors. Buoying the Cablevision stock was that during a conference call, executives “ruled out being a buyer but not necessarily being a seller,” wrote Wells Fargo’s Marci Ryvicker. “We do not get the sense that any transaction is imminent or in discussions but would point to [CEO] Jim Dolan’s comment, ‘Never say never.'” Charter and Cox Communications have reportedly discussed a combination. (See separate report in this issue.) Cablevision Q2 sales rose 0.8 percent to $1.57 billion from the year-ago quarter as consolidated operating income fell 26 percent to $197.8 million. The operator has “delivered significant product enhancements, including an across-the-board increase in Internet speeds, our new Multi-Room DVR and our industry-leading Wi-Fi initiatives,” said Dolan in a news release (http://bit.ly/17HXvJl). It said cable-TV sales rose 0.9 percent to $1.4 billion on “continued growth of data and voice customers and higher data rates partially offset by lower video revenues and a decrease in advertising revenues.” Cablevision stock closed up 5.2 percent to $19.61. Viacom sales rose 14 percent to $3.69 billion in the three months ended June 30 from the year-ago FY Q3. Operating income rose 20 percent to $1.09 billion, “as higher Media Networks affiliate fees and advertising revenues more than offset the impact of increased Filmed Entertainment distribution costs for two tentpole releases in the quarter,” said the company’s earnings release (http://bit.ly/19CmaPC). Viacom’s board approved buying back twice as much Class B stock as planned, to $20 billion. Those shares closed up 6.5 percent to $79.17.