Loss Not 'Titanic' for Viacom

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Viacom, owner of MTV and the Blockbuster video chain, has reported a loss for the first quarter. But Viacom's results improved from a year earlier on the runaway strength of the movie ``Titanic'' and its per-share earnings exceeded Wall Street expectations. Viacom says it registered a net loss of 4 cents a share for the quarter, compared with a net loss of 10 cents a share a year earlier. Viacom's shares rose 2 15/16 to 58 1/12 on the American Stock Exchange. Awash in Titanic 's success, Viacom Wednesday reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, sending the company's stock to its highest point since 1994. The entertainment company, whose units include Paramount, Blockbuster and MTV, had been expected to report a loss, but instead reported a small net of $1.4 million versus a loss of $23.8 million for the same period last year.

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@sprint.ca), April 30, 1998

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-- Thomas M. Terashima (titanicShack@yahoo.com), May 13, 1998.