Rochester, NY 7/10/2009 10:22:03 PM
Morning Report - VIAB - Revised Outlook on Viacom from Standard & Poor Ratings Services - Sourced WhisperFromWallStreet.com
Viacom Inc.
Morning Report - VIAB - Revised Outlook on Viacom from Standard & Poor Ratings Services - Sourced WhisperFromWallStreet.com
VIACOM INC CL B,VIA-B
20.41 Down 0.23 (1.11%) 10:55AM ET
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Viacom Inc. (VIA) to stable from negative and pulled the media company's short-term rating off watch for downgrade, reflecting Viacom's recent moves to bolster its financial condition. Viacom, like other media companies, has been hurt by lower advertising sales and uncertainty over the transition to digital platforms. The company's first-quarter earnings fell by a third, but Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said in April that the company had further reduced its debt. "The ratings affirmation and stable outlook reflect our view that Viacom has the resilience to weather the current recession and restore its leverage to an appropriate level for the 'BBB' rating by the end of 2009, notwithstanding the likelihood of elevated leverage in the very near term," S&P credit analyst Deborah Kinzer said. S&P, which affirmed Viacom's BBB long-term and A-2 short-term ratings, also lowered the leverage ratio standard for Viacom's rating to bring it more in line with others in the media industry. BBB is two notches above junk.
Last Trade: 20.32
Day's Range: 20.05 - 20.54
52wk Range: 11.60 - 31.65
Volume: 1,098,222
ABOUT
Viacom Inc. operates as an entertainment content company principally in the United States and Europe. It operates in two segments, Media Networks and Filmed Entertainment. The Media Networks segment provides entertainment content to advertisers, distributors, and retailers across various distribution platforms, including television, the Internet, mobile devices, video games, and various consumer products. It serves through MTV Networks with approximately 165 channels and multiplatform properties, which primarily include MTV: Music Television, MTV2, mtvU, MTV Tr3s, VH1, VH1 Classic, CMT: Country Music Television, Logo, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, Nicktoons, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, and TV Land. This segment operates approximately 400 digital media properties, including Web sites, WAP sites, broadband services, and virtual worlds worldwide.
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