VIACOM POSTS BIG EARNINGS.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer A bullish Sumner Redstone Sumner Murray Redstone (born Sumner Murray Rothstein on May 27 1923 in Boston, Massachusetts) is majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the National Amusements theater chain. Through National Amusements, he is majority owner of Midway Games, Viacom and CBS Corporation. , head of a resurgent re·sur·gent adj. 1. Experiencing or tending to bring about renewal or revival. 2. Sweeping or surging back again. Adj. 1. Viacom Inc., boldly predicted Thursday his company will outperform all rival media giants in coming years. Redstone issued the forecast after Viacom posted fourth-quarter profit far above estimates due to strong performance by MTV MTV in full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. , Nickelodeon, Paramount Studios and Blockbuster. Earnings from continuing operations continuing operations Parts of a business that are expected to be maintained as an ongoing segment of an overall business operation. Income and losses from continuing operations are reported separately if any segments have been discontinued during the were $90 million, or 30 cents a share, more than double First Call's estimate of 13 cents. Viacom, which has seen its share price more than triple in under two years, finished 1998 with a 31 percent gain in operating profit Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. to $1.19 billion. ``As exciting as 1998 was, 1999 looks even better,'' Redstone said at an analyst meeting at the Nickelodeon animation studio Animation studio can refer to:
That would put Viacom ahead of such economic stalwarts as Time Warner Inc., The Walt Disney Co., Seagram Co., News Corp. and Fox Entertainment Group. One prominent media investor at the meeting agreed with Redstone's forecast, saying Viacom has the best chance of growing annual profit gains by over 20 percent because of strong cable brands - MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1 - and its planned spinoff of Blockbuster. He would speak only on the condition of anonymity. Redstone singled out two areas as especially promising for profit growth: Nickelodeon's movie business, which scored a hit this fall with ``The Rugrats Movie.'' The film, based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon, cost only $25 million to make but took in nearly $100 million at the domestic box office and more profits are coming from foreign theaters, video and merchandise. ``This is an entirely new high-growth business for us,'' he added. ``This is how Disney got started.'' Nickelodeon, which distributes its films through Paramount, will release an animated film every year starting in 2000, Redstone said. MTV's international operations. ``This is an explosive growth story,'' Redstone said, citing gains in subscribers in Europe, Russia and Asia. Redstone also signaled that Viacom, which will offer up to 20 percent of Blockbuster to the public next quarter, is shelving its strategy of selling peripheral assets. ``We've sold what we believe can be sold,'' he said in response to an analyst question. Analyst Barry Hyman at Ehrenkrantz King Nussbaum said Redstone may be looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. acquisitions since Viacom's debt has been cut to a ``manageable'' level at $4.2 billion. He also predicted Viacom will aggressively expand its Web presence, with projects such as the recently announced sites for MTV and Nickelodeon fans. ``They're a great content company,'' Hyman said. ``Now they really need something to deliver content.'' Viacom also announced Thursday that its shares will be split, 2 for 1, on March 31, for shareholders of record on March 15. In addition, the company will move its stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. from the American Stock Exchange American Stock Exchange (AMEX) Stock exchange in the U.S. Originally known as “the Curb,” it began as an outdoor marketplace in New York City c. 1850. It moved indoors to its present location in the Wall Street area in 1921. , effective April 8. Shares of Viacom rose 75 cents Thursday to $85.625 a share. Redstone predicted the issue will top $100 but gave no timetable. |
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