MTV and Nickelodeon's owner, Viacom Inc., saw their stocks jumped during the early trading session. This was after the corporation doubled its stock buyback program to US$20 billion. The figure is more than half of Viacom's market value.
The shares climbed up to 7.2% following the closing yesterday at US$74.36. Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.'s analyst Todd Juenger stated that a 6% surge in the company's fiscal third quarter ad sales was "a positive surprise." Juenger added that the company anticipated the market's satisfaction regarding the advertising's growth and the surge in buyback.
The corporation's market value on Thursday's close was US$36.1 billion. Viacom reported an average of US$491.9 million diluted stocks, down by 7.3% from last year. The New York-headquartered corporation clocked in domestic advertising sales at 6% higher than the previous data. The domestic licensing fees charged to cable and satellite networks gained 28%.
Viacom's net income rose 20% to US$643 million or US$1.31 for each share from US$534 million or US$1.01 for each share in 2012. Its sales increased 14% to US$3.69 billion. The average estimate of analysts was US$3.57 billion.
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