Univision Communications on Thursday said it swung to a second-quarter loss.
But the company posted a 9.1 percent increase in a profitability metric that excludes various items.
The Spanish-language media giant, which is planning an IPO, posted a loss of of $23.5 million for the latest quarter, compared with a year-ago profit of $98.3 million.
Univision’s direct operating expenses were lower in the latest quarter, but restructuring, severance and related charges hit $8.8 million, compared with $2.1 million in the year-ago period. The company also reported a $66.4 million impairment loss.
Univision’s second-quarter operating earnings reached $197.5 million, compared with $291.7 million. Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA), another profitability metric, fell 4.7 percent to $334.6 million. Excluding the World Cup impact, it edged up 0.2 percent.
Revenue fell 16.5 percent to $696.3 million, or 3 percent when adjusting for the contribution from last year’s soccer World Cup. The firm’s media networks unit posted a decline of 17.5 percent amid the tough World Cup comparison, or 1.7 percent when excluding that, while radio revenue was down 6.8 percent.
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The company operates such assets as broadcast networks Univision Network and UniMas, formerly Telefutura, as well as cable channel Galavision and sports network Univision Deportes.
“During the 2015 second quarter, we continued to execute on our strategy to deliver a Univision branded experience and target bilingual and millennial audiences with tailored ‘must-see’ content across platforms, which included signing a deal with Netflix to stream top Univision and UniMas content,” said CEO Randy Falco. “Given our extensive engagement with U.S. Hispanics, a demographic group which is over 57 million strong, rapidly growing and young, with more than an estimated $1.3 trillion in buying power, and our collection of strong media brands, we are well positioned in our industry and poised for future long-term growth.”
He added: “Recently, we took an important strategic step – reinforcing our long-time relationship with Televisa to extend our exclusive access to premium Spanish-language content of the largest media company in the Spanish speaking world. This effort, along with other previously announced strategic initiatives, will enable us to further our mission-driven strategy, strengthen our competitive positioning and deepen the bond with our audience as we enter the second half of 2015.”
