Astral reports second quarter growth

Astral Media Inc. announced continued revenue growth for the second quarter of 2012 in a financial report released Wednesday. In a release, Astral said its consolidated revenues totaled $233.5 million in the second quarter, up from $232.7 million in the same period last year. Astral noted in the release that its consolidated net earnings reached $38.2 million in the second quarter, growing by 10 per cent from $34.7 million in the same period last year. The company said its total revenues reached $66 million in the second quarter, rising by three per cent from $64.3 million in the same period last year. Astral also reported a “sequential increase” in the number of pay-TV customers who subscribe to its The Movie Network (TMN) and Super Écran channels. The number of subscribers reached 1.869 million in the three-month period, up by 1,000 subscribers over that time, the company said. Astral attributed part of the growth to the launch of French-language services Disney XD and Disney Junior on the Cogeco Cable Inc. distribution network last year. During a conference call to discuss the financial results Wednesday, Ian Greenberg, Astral’s president and CEO, said he expects the company will complete its sale to BCE Inc. “by the end of September.” Greenberg also confirmed during the call that Astral will launch its “HBO Go” app sometime this fall. Astral, which owns the exclusive rights to HBO in Eastern Canada, announced plans to launch an online, on-demand service in Canada modeled last December, saying at the time that the new service would be modeled on the HBO Go streaming platform available to U.S. consumers. “It will be on the television of course, iPads and mobile devices,” Greenberg said. “That was our goal and that’s what we’re going out with.”

Astral reports second quarter growth

Briefs | 04/11/2012 9:53 pm EDT

To keep reading, get a free trial.

Already a Subscriber?

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us