The company now known as Warner Bros. Discovery reported higher earnings for the first quarter. These first quarter earnings do not include the operations of WarnerMedia, acquired from AT&T on April 8.
Net income for the legacy Discovery businesses in the first quarter was $456 million, or 69 cents a share, up from $!40 million, or 21 cents a share, a year ago.
Revenue went up 13% to $3.159 billion.
At the company’s U.S. networks, adjusted operating income rose 25% to $1.025 billion as revenue increased 7% to $1.932 billion.
U.S. ad revenue increased 5% to $1.025 billion. Distribution revenue increased 11% to $886 million with the growth of Discovery Plus, the company said. Subscribers to the company’s cable networks fell 8%, with subscriber down 4% at its fully distributed networks.
"With Warner Bros. Discovery, we are creating a pure-play media company with diversified revenues and the most compelling IP ownership, franchises, and brand portfolio in our industry. Importantly, we also have an unrivaled global footprint of touchpoints to get our content into the hands of consumers on every screen,” said CEO David Zaslav.
“We are putting together the strategic framework and organization to drive our balanced approach to growing our businesses and maximizing the value of our storytelling, news and sports,” Zaslav said. “To do this, we have brought together a strong leadership team in a streamlined structure to foster better command and control and strategic clarity across the entire company. I could not be more excited about the massive opportunity ahead." ■
