Corus Entertainment Inc.’s quarterly profit beat analyst estimates on Friday, as the Canadian media company kept a tight leash on expenses and declines in its struggling television business slowed.
Traditional media companies such as Corus have been boosting their offerings to attract new customers as they shy away from expensive TV bundles for cheaper online streaming services like Netflix Inc, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.
Netflix planned to invest more than US$8-billion in entertainment programming this year to lure new customers around the world.
Corus will be ramping up its advertising technology and investments in acquiring content for its television business, Chief Executive Officer Doug Murphy said on a post-earnings call with analysts on Friday,
The Toronto-based company’s shares, which fell more than 60 per cent this year, were up 8.5 per cent at $4.92 in early trading.
Total costs related to acquisitions and restructuring fell 42 per cent to $7.7-million in the fourth quarter.
Corus’s television business, which houses brands such as HistoryGo and Global News, fell marginally to $344.6- million. The business reported a fall of 4.6 per cent in the third quarter.
Advertising revenue for the television business fell 4 per cent to $219 million, Corus said.
The company faces stiff competition from tech giants such as Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google in its advertising business.
The company’s net income rose 16.4 per cent to $33.7-million, or 16 cents per share, in the quarter ended Aug. 31.
Excluding items, Corus earned 19 cents per share.
Total revenue fell to $379.1-million from $381.2-million.
Analysts on average had expected the company to earn 15 cents per share on revenue of $375.4-million, according to data from Refinitiv.