Viacom earnings up 56 percent

(AP) NEW YORK - Viacom (VIA) says its net income rose 56 percent in the latest quarter, even though a slate of movies that was lackluster compared with last year held back revenue.

Viacom Inc., the owner of Paramount Pictures, MTV and Comedy Central, earned $585 million, or $1.07 per share in the January to March quarter. That compares with $376 million, or 63 cents per share, it earned in the same period last year.

Excluding special items earnings were 98 cents per share in the fiscal second quarter, 9 cents above the average analyst estimate as polled by FactSet.

Viacom, based in New York, says its revenue rose 2 percent to $3.33 billion, matching analyst estimates.

Revenue rose 5 percent at Viacom's TV networks, and fell 5 percent at Paramount.