[ACCESSWIRE]
Upcoming AWS Coverage on Liberty Global Post-Earnings Results
LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) (NASDAQ: DISCK) ("Discovery"). The Company reported its financial results for the fourth quarter fiscal 2016 (Q4 FY16) and full year fiscal 2016 (FY16) on February 14, 2017. The Silver Spring, Maryland-based Company reported a 47% y-o-y growth in its quarterly adjusted diluted EPS, beating market consensus estimates. Register with us now for your free membership at:
http://www.activewallst.com/register/
One of Discovery Communications' competitors within the CATV Systems space, Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ: LBTYA), released its 2016 results on Thursday, February 16, 2017. AWS will be initiating a research report on Liberty Global in the coming days.
Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on DISCA and DISCK; touching on LBTYA. Get our free coverage by signing up to:
http://www.activewallst.com/register/
Earnings Reviewed
During the quarter ended on December 31, 2016, Discovery reported total revenue of $1.67 billion which came in at 2% above the $1.65 billion recorded at the end of Q4 FY15. Total revenue numbers for Q4 FY16 met market consensus estimates of $1.67 billion. The Company's total revenue growth for Q4 FY16 was led by a 3% y-o-y growth in its US Networks and a slight growth in its International Networks' revenues, but was partially offset by a slight decline in its Education and Other's revenues.
The cable TV channels operator's net income available to Discovery Communications rose to $304 million, or $0.52 per diluted A, B, and C common share in Q4 FY16 from $219 million, or $0.34 per diluted A, Band C common share in Q4 FY15. The Company's adjusted diluted EPS surged to $0.56 per diluted A, B, and C common share in Q4 FY16, from $0.38 per A, B, and C common diluted share in Q4 FY15. Wall Street had expected the Company to report adjusted diluted EPS of $0.51 per diluted A, B, and C common share.
For FY16, Discovery's revenue came in at $6.50 billion compared to $6.39 billion in the previous year's same period. The Company reported net income available to Discovery Communications increased to $1.19 billion, or $1.96 per diluted A, B, and C common share in FY16 from $1.03 billion, or $1.58 per diluted A, B, and C common share in FY15. Additionally, adjusted net diluted EPS grew during FY16 to $2.13 per diluted A, B, and C common share, from $1.76 per diluted A, B, and C common share in FY15.
Operational Metrics
For the reported quarter, the Company's total costs and expenses came in at $1.15 billion compared to $1.21 billion in Q4 FY15. The Company's operating income for Q4 FY16 came in at $525 million compared to $441 million in Q4 FY15. The Company reported adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) of $581 million for Q4 FY16 versus $574 million in the last year's comparable quarter.
Segment-wise
Discovery's US Networks segment's reported a 3% y-o-y growth in total revenues for Q4 FY16 to $812 million from $787 million in Q4 FY15. The segment's adjusted OIBDA grew to $447 million, or 55% of the segment's revenues in Q4 FY16 from $410 million, or 52% of the segment's revenues, in the previous year's comparable quarter.
International Networks segment's revenue rose marginally to $819 million in Q4 FY16 from $816 million in the previous year's same quarter. Furthermore, the segment reported adjusted OIBDA of $231 million, or 28% of the segment's revenues in Q4 FY16 compared to $262 million, or 32% of the segment's revenues in the prior year's comparable quarter.
The Company's Education and Other segment's revenue fell 5% during Q4 FY16 to $41 million. During the reported period, the segment reported negative adjusted OIBDA of $5 million.
Cash Flow & Balance Sheet
During FY16, cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations increased to $1.37 billion from $1.28 billion in the prior year's corresponding period. Free cash flow grew 9% to $1.29 billion in FY16 from $1.17 billion in FY15. At the close of books on December 31, 2016, Discovery had $300 million in cash and cash equivalents compared to $390 million at the close of books on December 31, 2015. The Company's non-current portion of debt increased in the reported year, which stood at $7.84 billion as on December 31, 2016, compared to $7.62 billion as on December 31, 2015.
Share Repurchase
During Q4 FY16, the Company repurchased 5.6 million shares of its Series C common stock worth $142 million at an average price of $25.20 per share. In total, the Company spent $250 million on share repurchases during Q4 FY16. Through December 31, 2016, the Company has repurchased a total of 149.8 million shares of Series C common stock and 2.8 million shares of its Series A common stock under its stock repurchase program.
Stock Performance
On Tuesday, February 21, 2017, the stock closed the trading session at $29.62, rising 3.28% from its previous closing price of $28.68. A total volume of 5.70 million shares have exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3-month average volume of 2.70 million shares. Discovery Communications' Class A's stock price advanced 5.67% in the last three months, 10.81% in the past six months, and 13.10% in the previous twelve months. Moreover, the stock gained 8.06% since the start of the year. The stock currently has a market cap of $11.57 billion.
Discovery Communications' Class C's share price finished yesterday's trading session at $28.87, advancing 2.78%. A total volume of 2.11 million shares exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3 months' average volume of 1.35 million shares. The stock has rallied 11.12% and 12.29% in the last six months and past twelve months, respectively. Furthermore, since the start of the year, shares of the Company have gained 7.80%. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 16.32 and currently has a market cap of $6.57 billion.
Active Wall Street:
Active Wall Street (AWS) produces regular sponsored and non-sponsored reports, articles, stock market blogs, and popular investment newsletters covering equities listed on NYSE and NASDAQ and micro-cap stocks. AWS has two distinct and independent departments. One department produces non-sponsored analyst certified content generally in the form of press releases, articles and reports covering equities listed on NYSE and NASDAQ and the other produces sponsored content (in most cases not reviewed by a registered analyst), which typically consists of compensated investment newsletters, articles and reports covering listed stocks and micro-caps. Such sponsored content is outside the scope of procedures detailed below.
AWS has not been compensated; directly or indirectly; for producing or publishing this document.
PRESS RELEASE PROCEDURES:
The non-sponsored content contained herein has been prepared by a writer (the "Author") and is fact checked and reviewed by a third party research service company (the "Reviewer") represented by a credentialed financial analyst, for further information on analyst credentials, please email [email protected]. Rohit Tuli, a CFA® charterholder (the "Sponsor"), provides necessary guidance in preparing the document templates. The Reviewer has reviewed and revised the content, as necessary, based on publicly available information which is believed to be reliable. Content is researched, written and reviewed on a reasonable-effort basis. The Reviewer has not performed any independent investigations or forensic audits to validate the information herein. The Reviewer has only independently reviewed the information provided by the Author according to the procedures outlined by AWS. AWS is not entitled to veto or interfere in the application of such procedures by the third-party research service company to the articles, documents or reports, as the case may be. Unless otherwise noted, any content outside of this document has no association with the Author or the Reviewer in any way.
NO WARRANTY
AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer are not responsible for any error which may be occasioned at the time of printing of this document or any error, mistake or shortcoming. No liability is accepted whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential loss arising from the use of this document. AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer expressly disclaim any fiduciary responsibility or liability for any consequences, financial or otherwise arising from any reliance placed on the information in this document. Additionally, AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer do not (1) guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness or correct sequencing of the information, or (2) warrant any results from use of the information. The included information is subject to change without notice.
NOT AN OFFERING
This document is not intended as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed, and is to be used for informational purposes only. Please read all associated disclosures and disclaimers in full before investing. Neither AWS nor any party affiliated with us is a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer with any agency or in any jurisdiction whatsoever. To download our report(s), read our disclosures, or for more information, visit http://www.activewallst.com/disclaimer/.
CONTACT
For any questions, inquiries, or comments reach out to us directly. If you're a company we are covering and wish to no longer feature on our coverage list contact us via email and/or phone between 09:30 EDT to 16:00 EDT from Monday to Friday at:
Email: [email protected]
Phone number: 1-858-257-3144
Office Address: 3rd floor, 207 Regent Street, London, W1B 3HH, United Kingdom
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
SOURCE: Active Wall Street
