LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Media outfit Discovery saw net income tumble in the third quarter of its trading year as charges associated with its merger with Scripps weighed on the group's bottom line.
Discovery's net income fell 46.3% to $117m, or $0.38 on a per share basis, despite seeing revenues soar 57% year-on-year to $2.59bn.

Excluding restructuring and other charges associated with integration of Scripps, increased tax expenses and higher interest expenses, Discovery turned in an adjusted earnings per share of $0.79 - considerably ahead of the $0.59 expected on the Street.

Discovery, which owns Discovery Channel, HGTV and the Oprah Winfrey Network, said it saw an 8% increase in advertising revenues from its US networks, however, this was offset by a 2% decrease in distribution revenues and a 29% decrease in other revenues.

Chief executive David Zaslav, said: "We continue to drive organic growth opportunities across our diverse portfolio, further positioning us for continued cash flow generation and additional value creation. We remain increasingly optimistic about the roadmap ahead of us as we drive forward with our plan to transform our company."

At the close, Discovery shares were 2.18% higher at $33.80 each.

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