Televisa's battered shares seesaw after third quarter lands in red

Reuters

Published Oct 27, 2023 11:41AM ET

Updated Oct 27, 2023 01:07PM ET

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Shares in Televisa, Mexico's largest broadcaster, seesawed on Friday after the firm posted another quarter in the red and shed more customers than expected, losing as much as 5% in early trading before rising about 4%.

Televisa shares were already down last week as traders anticipated more troubled earnings, which came Thursday with a net loss in the third quarter.

"The night is darkest before the dawn," analysts at Itau BBA said in a note, adding that despite weak results they considered the stock to be trading at an excessive discount.

To improve profits in its cable segment, the firm on Thursday announced a 12% staff cut effective from the fourth quarter this year.

Management said in an earnings call the company planned to "revamp" the cable business with a focus on better video streaming offerings and growing user engagement and satisfaction, as it seeks to grow revenues and profits.

Going forward, they said Televisa would focus on better value-generating strategy, rather than rapid expansion.

A previous focus on volume over quality with aggressive promotions driven by a competitive market had acted as a "double-edged sword," boosting churn but hampering sales quality, company executives said.

Between 2024-26, the company forecasts revenue growth in the low-to-mid single digits, which it said it would meet by promotions and encouraging customers to spend on extra features, adding subscribers and hiking prices.