TORONTO — Shares in Corus Entertainment Inc. fell as much as 10 per cent after it reported a fourth-quarter loss of $367.1 million, burdened by a one-time, non-cash charge related to its television business which it says fell short of previous estimates with an outlook that was less robust.
The television and radio broadcaster said Friday the goodwill impairment charge amounted to $350 million.
Corus shares rebounded somewhat later in the day, closing Friday down 3.6 per cent at $2.15 after dropping as low as $1.93 in the morning.
Corus CEO Doug Murphy said the company experienced meaningfully lower financial results given the impacts of an uncertain economic environment on advertising demand in the quarter.
"Despite these cross-currents in the advertising market, our portfolio of businesses is delivering impressive subscriber revenue growth and increased international content sales," Murphy said in a statement.
"We are taking appropriate actions to tightly manage our expenses while maintaining a disciplined focus on capital allocation, shareholder yield and the ongoing execution of our strategic plan and priorities.
Shares in the company were down 29 cents or 13 per cent at $1.94 in early trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange Friday.
The overall loss for the quarter amounted to $1.82 per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 31 compared with a profit of $19.9 million or 10 cents per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $339.6 million, down from $361.3 million in the same quarter last year.
Television revenue amounted to $314.2 million for the quarter, down from $335.8 million a year earlier, while radio revenue held steady at $25.4 million.
On an adjusted basis, Corus says it lost $17.1 million or eight cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $21.7 million or 10 cents per share a year ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CJR.B)
The Canadian Press
