Viacom beats revenue estimates on film unit strength

(Reuters) - Viacom Inc, the owner of MTV and Paramount, reported better-than expected quarterly revenue on Thursday, as higher revenue in its film unit offset declines in fees the company collects from cable TV operators and online distributors.

The company's shares were up 2 percent in premarket trading.

Revenue from Viacom's film unit, which includes theater and licensing revenues, increased 2 percent to $789 million from a year earlier.

However, domestic affiliate revenue fell 3 percent to $948 million in the quarter. Analysts had expected a 1.8 percent fall, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.

Net profit attributable to Viacom rose to $674 million, or $1.67 per share, in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept.30 from $254 million, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier.

The quarter included a $127 million gain from an asset sale.

Total revenue rose 2.9 percent to $3.32 billion.

Excluding items, the company earned 77 cents per share.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 86 cents per share and revenue of $3.23 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)