Starz said second-quarter net income declined 9.5% even as revenue rose.
The Englewood, Colo., company, which operates the premium pay-cable Starz and Encore services said second-quarter profit came to $63.4 million, or 59 cents per share, compared with $70.1 million, or 62 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.
Overall revenue rose 2% to $417.7 million, the company said, citing an increase in monies collected from its networks’ various distributors. Meanwhile, customer subscriptions increased by increased 23.5 million, a rise of 1.5 million since June 30, 2014, though down slightly from the first quarter of this year.
Wall Street watches the company these days for its success in launching original series, which it can then distribute and sell into other viewing opportunities after the programs run on its own networks. Starz cited the performance of series like “Power” and “Outlander, and said its pipeline for 2015 was “fortified.” In a prepared statement, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said the company was “on track this year to achieve our goal of 75-80 episodes of new Starz Original series.”
The company said revenue at its TV networks rose 2% to $333.3. Revenue from distribution increased 4% to $78.4 million as a result of the distribution of films for The Weinstein Company.
