Benzinga | Aug 3, 2021 08:45AM EDT

Discovery Beats On Q2 Earnings Backed By Strong Advertising Revenue, Key Market Recovery

* Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:DISCA) reported second-quarter FY21 revenue growth of 21% year-on-year to $3.06 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $2.97 billion.

* It ended Q2 with 17 million Direct-to-Consumer Subscribers and generated nearly $400 million of Next Generation Revenues, up 130% Y/Y.

* Advertising revenue increased 12% Y/Y to $1.12 billion due to higher pricing, the continued monetization of content offerings on its next-generation platforms, and higher inventory.

* Revenue from Distribution grew 12% Y/Y to $828 million, driven by the Jan. 2021 launch of discovery+ and increased contractual affiliate rates. Other revenue rose 30% Y/Y to $26 million.

* Subscribers to its fully distributed linear networks were 3% lower Y/Y. Total linear portfolio subscribers were 7% lower Y/Y.

* Total U.S. Networks revenues increased 12% Y/Y to $1.97 billion. Total International Networks revenues increased 40% Y/Y to $1.09 billion.

* Adjusted OIBDA margin contracted 787 bps to 36.5%.

* EPS of $1.01 beat the analyst consensus of $0.85.

* Discovery generated $834 million in operating cash flow, $757 million in free cash flow and held $2.83 billion in cash and equivalents.

* Advertising revenue increased in every region globally and accelerated throughout the quarter, particularly in the International segment as revenue increased 70%, CEO David Zaslav stated.

* The first Summer Olympic Games have thus far been a success, supporting healthy viewing and subscriptions across both linear and streaming platforms, added Zaslav.

* Price action: DISCA shares traded higher by 0.79% at $29.32 in the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.

* Photo via Wikimedia