Quebecor misses Q4 analyst expectations, but says it’s poised for future growth

MONTREAL – Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B) had $62.5 million of net income in the fourth quarter, up from $6.2 million a year earlier, as the company refocused its news media operations and signed several deals to set it up for future growth, including the acquisition of the French-language broadcast rights for NHL games in Canada.

Net income attributable to shareholders was $43.4 million, or 35 cents per basic share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, versus $7.1 million or six cents in the same period of 2012.

Revenues for the quarter remained relatively flat, up 0.5 per cent to $1.12 billion.

Analysts’ estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters had called for 53 cents of adjusted earnings on $1.15 billion in revenues.

Earlier this week, the company’s former CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau announced that he was running for the Parti Quebecois in the next election on April 7. It’s expected he will be required by the province’s ethics commissioner to put his shares in Quebecor in a blind trust if elected.

Quebecor owns the province’s most-read tabloid newspaper and its most-watched TV network. It also operates a 24-hour news TV channel and Videotron, Canada’s third-largest cable services provider.