Paramount Global beats earnings target ahead of sale to Skydance

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Paramount Global posted second-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street estimates on Thursday as the company prepares for a sale to Skydance Media.

Shares of Paramount rose 0.2% in after-hours trading to $12.60.

The owner of the CBS broadcast network, a film studio and several cable channels reported adjusted earnings-per-share of 46 cents for April through June. Analysts had predicted 36 cents per share, according to LSEG estimates.

Revenue rose 1% from a year earlier to $6.85 billion, edging the analyst consensus of $6.84 billion.

Subscription revenue growth at the Paramount+ streaming service helped boost affiliate and subscription revenue, Paramount said in its earnings report. The drama series "MobLand" attracted viewers during the quarter, the company said.

Total Paramount+ subscribers, however, dropped by 1.3 million to 77.7 million. The company said the decrease was primarily related to the expiration of a bundle deal in Europe. Price increases drove higher revenue.

The Paramount Pictures film studio had a hit during the quarter with "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning."

The $8.4 billion sale of Paramount to Skydance is expected to close by Aug. 7. The U.S. government cleared the final hurdle to the deal last week.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

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