Discovery Q2 Profit Rises on Tax Benefit

By Brian Steinberg

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Discovery Inc. said second-quarter profit rose significantly as the company enjoyed a one-time $455 million tax benefit due to restructurings at its overseas operations.

The owner of the Discovery, TLC, Food Network and HGTV cable operations said revenue rose a slight 1% to nearly $2.89 billion as a 5% increase in U.S. revenue was offset by a 3% decrease at its international cable operations as well as the sale of its  education business.

Net income in the quarter came to $947 million, or $1.33 a share, compared with $216 million, or 30 cents, in the year-earlier period.

Distribution revenue from U.S. operations rose 5% to $688 million. Advertising revenue increased 6% to a little more than $1.15 billion.

In a prepared statement, Discovery CEO David Zaslav said executives at the company “are confident in our ability to continue executing on our strategic priorities to drive long-term growth and shareholder value.”