Viacom's revenue misses on lower income from films business

REUTERS - Viacom Inc reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue, hurt by lower revenue from its films business as there were no major movie releases in the third quarter.

The company, which operates popular TV channels including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, was also hurt by a fall in its U.S. advertising revenue.

Revenue from Viacom's studio business, which includes Paramount Pictures Corp, fell 44 percent to $479 million. The company had benefited in the year-earlier quarter from the release of its blockbuster "Transformers: Age of Extinction".

Viacom's movie slate for the fourth quarter includes "Terminator: Genisys" and "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation", which are expected to drive revenue.

The company, controlled by billionaire Sumner Redstone, said advertising revenue fell 9 percent in its U.S. cable and media network business.

Net profit from continuing operations attributable to Viacom fell to $591 million, or $1.47 per share, in the quarter ended June 30 from $611 million, or $1.40 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, Viacom earned $1.47 per share.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.47 per share and revenue of $3.22 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue fell 10.6 percent to $3.06 billion.

Viacom's shares closed at $51.41 on Wednesday on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)