Quebecor revenues up for 2017

Adjusted media revenues increased 28.6% from last year, but the magazine unit records a goodwill impairment charge.

Media and telecommunications company Quebecor is reporting increased revenues for its 2017 fiscal year and its Q4 period.

Its media operation, including TVA Group (which reported separate financials last week), its QMI Media and QMI news units, reported $769.2 million in annual revenues, contributing to $4.12 billion in revenues across the company as a whole. (Quebecor also sees revenues from its telecommunications and entertainment units.)

That marks a downturn in overall media revenues from $789.2 million in 2016, but adjusted operating revenues for this year were up 28.6% to $15.4 million.

President and CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau (pictured) said that increase was partly driven by “unparalleled selection of content, which strengthened our advertising offerings to our advertisers and thereby helped grow our revenues in the media segment, combined with stringent cost control and cost-reduction initiatives in those two segments.”

Specialty TV channels such as TVA Sports, along with the company’s film production operations, contributed to a 46.2% increase in TVA Group’s adjusted annual operating income.

“Our broadcasting business posted very strong results, mainly because of the impact of the increase in advertising revenues at the specialty channels and TVA Network, higher subscription revenues at TVA Sports, and cost reductions generated by the various restructuring initiatives implemented in recent years,” said France Lauzière , president and CEO of TVA Group, in a statement.

Citing numbers from Numeris, Lauzière  said the total market share for TVA and its affiliated specialty channels reached 37.2%, up from 35.5% in 2016.

The company also said it performed impairment tests on its magazine unit, determining that its recoverable amount was less than its carrying amount. As a result, it took a $30 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge on the year.