NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Following a comprehensive review of Viacom's (NASDAQ:VIAB, VIA) capital
structure and operating budget, the Viacom Board today announced
measures to improve the Company's financial flexibility and position it
for future growth. Specifically, the Company is reducing its dividend
payout to preserve capital and will proceed to access debt capital
markets in the near term to improve liquidity. These actions are
designed to balance the Company's focus on a strong balance sheet and
its strategy to invest in world class content and pursue opportunities
to grow its core businesses.
The Company also announced that Tom Dooley, Interim President and Chief
Executive Officer, has informed the Board of his decision to depart the
Company. He has agreed to remain in that position through November 15,
2016, to facilitate an orderly transition.
In particular, the Board today announced that:
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Viacom's quarterly dividend will be adjusted to $0.20 per share, and
the Company will shortly access debt markets in order to improve
liquidity and financial flexibility;
-
The Company expects that adjusted diluted earnings per share for the
fiscal fourth quarter will be in the range of $0.65 to $0.70. This
revision accounts for a programming impairment charge of $115 million
in its filmed entertainment segment in its fiscal fourth quarter
related to the expected performance of an unreleased film; reported
earnings per share are expected to be $0.55 to $0.60, primarily
reflecting severance expenses incurred as a result of the settlement
agreement; and
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The Company has ended the process of seeking a minority investor in
Paramount Pictures at this time, in order to consider all options
available to the Company.
"The Board believes Viacom has a product strategy that is among the best
in the industry. The steps we are taking will make the Company
financially stronger and more flexible and will position Viacom to take
advantage of future growth opportunities," said Tom May, Chairman of the
Board. "I am pleased that Tom Dooley has agreed to stay on as Interim
President and CEO through November 15 to allow the Board to conduct an
orderly succession process.''
Shari Redstone, Vice Chair of the Board, said, "I have been energized by
the passion, commitment and ideas put forward by our newly-expanded
board and members of Viacom's senior team. While there is more work to
do, the actions announced today are an important first step towards
realizing the value of Viacom's exceptional assets and positioning the
Company for the future. I also want to thank Tom Dooley for his service
and his willingness to stay on through this transition period."
Tom Dooley, Interim President and CEO, said "While this was a difficult
decision for me, I have great admiration for our new Board and I feel
that they will be best able to execute on their vision for the Company
in the hands of a new President and CEO. I am certain that the Board
will make the most of the Company's extraordinary potential. I want to
thank Sumner, Shari and the members of the Board for the opportunities
they have provided me. I look forward to working with them to deliver
Viacom into the hands of new leadership in excellent shape and poised
for a remarkable future."
Viacom will provide additional information regarding its fourth quarter
and full-year results and business outlook during its regular quarterly
earnings call.
About Viacom
Viacom is home to premier global media brands that create compelling
television programs, motion pictures, short-form content, apps, games,
consumer products, social media experiences, and other entertainment
content for audiences in 180 countries. Viacom's media networks,
including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Spike, BET, CMT, TV
Land, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., Channel 5 (UK), Logo, Nicktoons, TeenNick
and Paramount Channel, reach over 3.8 billion cumulative television
subscribers worldwide. Paramount Pictures is a major global producer and
distributor of filmed entertainment.
For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com.
Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom's blog at blog.viacom.com
and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/viacom.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains both historical and forward-looking
statements. All statements that are not statements of historical fact
are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements reflect our current expectations concerning future results,
objectives, plans and goals, and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and which
may cause future results, performance or achievements to differ. These
risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: the effect
of transitions under way involving the Board and management and related
changes in strategy, the public acceptance of our brands, programs,
motion pictures and other entertainment content on the various platforms
on which they are distributed; the impact of inadequate audience
measurement on our program ratings, advertising revenues and affiliate
fees; technological developments and their effect in our markets and on
consumer behavior; competition for content, audiences, advertising and
distribution; the impact of piracy; economic fluctuations in advertising
and retail markets, and economic conditions generally; fluctuations in
our results due to the timing, mix, number and availability of our
motion pictures and other programming; the potential for loss of
carriage or other reduction in the distribution of our content; changes
in the Federal communications or other laws and regulations; evolving
cybersecurity and similar risks; other domestic and global economic,
business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting our businesses
generally; and other factors described in our news releases and filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited
to our 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K and reports on Form 10-Q and Form
8-K. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made
only as of the date of this document, and we do not have any obligation
to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent
events or circumstances. If applicable, reconciliations for any non-GAAP
financial information contained in this news release are included in
this news release or available on our website at http://www.viacom.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160921005890/en/
Viacom
Press:
Jeremy Zweig, 212-846-7503
jeremy@viacom.com
or
Investors:
James
Bombassei, 212-258-6377
james.bombassei@viacom.com
or
Kareem
Chin, 212-846-6305
kareem.chin@viacom.com
Source: Viacom
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