*Corus revenues soar

Corus Entertainment’s revenue for the three months ended May 31 was $55.4 million, up 42% from $39 million in the same period last year.

The programming, radio and ‘other’ categories all contributed to the growth in revenue, with increases of 24%, 48% and 100%, respectively.

ebitda was $16 million, an increase of more than 65% over the same period last year. The three aforementioned categories achieved ebitda growth of 57%, 62% and 230%, respectively.

Net income in Q3 was $63.1 million, including a pre-tax gain of $81.1 million from the disposal of the company’s interest in ctv.

Earnings per share for the quarter were $1.80 basic ($1.77 fully diluted).

Cash flow derived from operations was $10.9 million compared with $8 million for the period last year. Cash flow per share for the quarter was $0.31 basic and fully diluted.

The third-quarter results include two months of operation from the radio and tv stations acquired from Power Broadcasting, effective April 1. Although the transaction to purchase the wic assets closed March 31, the operating results were not included in the report because crtc approval was still pending.

-www.corusent.com

*Peace Arch posts gains

Third-quarter results for Vancouver’s Peace Arch Entertainment show a 24% increase in net income over the same period in 1999, but the year-to-date net income tally is off by 33%.

For the quarter ended May 31, Peace Arch posted net income of $493,000 ($0.13 per share) on revenues of $7.2 million. One year earlier, the third quarter generated net income of $398,000 ($0.13 per share) on revenue of $8.7 million.

For the nine-month period ended May 31, net income was $936,000 ($0.24 per share) on revenues of $18.5 million compared to 1999 when net income was $1.4 million ($0.46 per share) on revenues of $39.0 million.

‘The seasonal pattern of television programming deliveries typically causes revenue in our third quarter to be the lowest of any three-month period during most fiscal years,’ says cfo Juliet Jones.

The sci-fi series First Wave generated most revenues in the third quarter, which is the busiest in Peace Arch’s history – despite the lowered financial performance. Production deals for proprietary series The Immortal and Big Sound were secured in the quarter, with initial deliveries beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2000.

Class a and b shares of Peace Arch traded on the tse in the $4-per-share range on Aug. 2, well off their year highs of $11.95 per share and $9.50 per share, respectively.

Meanwhile, in other Peace Arch news, an l.a.-based producer is suing the company for breach of contract after being fired from the series The Immortal in June. James Margellos alleges he was let go from a contract worth us$279,000 when Peace Arch and its distribution partners wrongly blamed him for budget overruns and delays.

Peace Arch is expected to file a Statement of Defence.

-www.peacearch.net

*A buoyant third for Astral

Astral Media (acm.b-t) reports ebitda in the third quarter is up 99% to $20.7 million or $1.07 a share over last year, while cash flow doubled in the period to $13.4 million.

Combined net earnings for Q3 are $5 million based on revenues of $89.5 million. Net earnings after nine months stand at $11.9 million on top-line revenues of $212.7 million.

Ian Greenberg, president and ceo, says Astral’s strong performance in 2000 reflects its takeover of Radiomutuel and the ongoing growth of its own broadcast and media assets. Astral Media is involved in 16 applications for new digital specialty tv licences.

-www.astral.com

*Shaw revs up in Q3

Shaw Communications’ revenue for the third quarter ended May 31 increased more than 26%, while operating income before amortization grew by 28.7% over the same period last year.

The company says the improvement in operating income produced significant quarterly and year-to-date increases in cash flow from continuing operations of 36.5% and 23.6%, respectively.

Net income in Q3 of $2.2 million includes the following after-tax gains and expenses: $36.1 million gain on sale of investments, $23.3 million gain on issuance of stock by equity investees, and $45.5 million in debt restructuring costs.

Total debt-to-cash-flow ratio for the quarter was approximately 3.33 to 1. *

-www.shaw.ca