Corus Entertainment Q1 Revenue Grows 10%

Corus Entertainment (TSE: CJR.B) reported an increase in revenue but a slightly lower profit in the first quarter of 2022 than a year earlier.

Revenue & Earnings

Consolidated revenue came in at nearly C$463.9 million, up 10% from nearly C$420.4 million in the same quarter a year earlier for the company behind Global Television, W Network, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada.

Television revenues totaled C$434.7 million, up from C$392.1 million a year ago, while radio revenues were C$29.1 million, up from nearly C$28.3 million.

Net income attributed to shareholders amounted to C$76.2 million (C$0.36 per diluted share) in the quarter, compared to C$76.7 million (C$0.37 per diluted share).

CEO Commentary

Corus president and CEO Doug Murphy said, “We have delivered a strong start to the year with impressive double-digit revenue growth and notable free cash flow. Television revenue in Q1 surpassed pre-pandemic levels, benefiting from Global TV’s winning Fall schedule and robust advertising demand. Importantly, we have demonstrated that the ‘re-aggregation of our channels business on streaming platforms’ offers long-term resiliency and growth potential, with yet another quarter of streaming subscriber additions and the planned expansion of STACKTV onto Rogers Ignite TV and SmartStream platforms.”

Murphy added that Corus is confident in the future growth opportunities it sees in digital video and its owned content business. The company has bolstered its balanced capital allocation strategy with the addition of a normal course issuer bid program to complement its attractive dividend.

Wall Street’s Take

Three months ago, Canaccord Genuity analyst Aravinda Galappatthige kept a Buy rating on CJR.B and raised its price target to C$8.50 (from C$7.50). This implies 71% upside potential.

The rest of the Street is cautiously optimistic on CJR.B with a Moderate Buy consensus rating, based on one Buy and one Hold. The average Corus Entertainment price target of C$8.47 implies upside potential of 70.4% to current levels.

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