Lower costs at Paramount Pictures and higher subscriber fees at cable networks like Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and VH1 helped Viacom report a 16 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income on Thursday.  But Paramount continued to lose money — $74 million, an improvement from a loss of $139 million a year ago — and the 3 percent growth in advertising for domestic television was on the light side.  That figure “probably isn’t enough to dissuade the fears, but isn’t bad enough to suggest things are even worse,” Todd Juenger, an analyst at Bernstein Research, wrote in a note on the slight uptick in advertising.  Philippe P. Dauman, Viacom’s chief executive, was upbeat about ad sales in a Thursday morning conference call with investors, saying he was “encouraged” by the current market, particularly overseas. He dismissed any softness in the most recent quarter as being tied to brief marketplace uncertainty, which he suggested was caused by budgetary fighting in Washington and the government shutdown. “That dissipated,” he said.  Mr. Dauman was keen to focus attention on Nickelodeon, which he said had climbed back from a drop in viewership by delivering 12 consecutive months of year-over-year ratings growth. “Nickelodeon is on a roll,” he said, noting in particular the introduction of a new preschool series, “Paw Patrol.”  For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, Viacom reported a profit of $547 million, or $1.20 a share, compared with $473 million, or 93 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts had been expecting a per-share profit of $1.16. Revenue dipped 4 percent, to $3.2 billion; analysts had expected revenue of $3.3 billion.  “A solid start” is how Doug Creutz, an analyst at Cowen and Company, summarized Viacom’s earnings. Viacom shares rose nearly 4 percent or $3.04, on Thursday to close at $84.01.  Mr. Dauman cited “ongoing financial discipline” as a reason for the company’s improved profits, a comment that applied to a range of Viacom units but especially to Paramount. The movie studio, looking to pare production and marketing expenses, released roughly half as many films in the quarter as it did a year ago.  “The rate at which Viacom continues to shrink its way to E.P.S. growth is truly astonishing,” Mr. Juenger wrote, referring to earnings per share. “The question is whether such rapid weight loss is healthy in the long term.”  Paramount’s first-quarter releases were notably popular with audiences, especially “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa,” which cost $15 million to make (marketing costs were unknown) and took in $149 million at the worldwide box office. The studio recorded little if any income from “The Wolf of Wall Street” in the quarter, however, because it was released just a week before the period’s end.  Mr. Dauman noted that Paramount received 13 Oscar nominations, joking that even “Bad Grandpa” managed to receive one, for achievement in makeup and hair. He underscored that Paramount was working to build a TV production business.  Viacom’s cable network engine delivered operating income of $1.11 billion, an 8 percent increase from the same period a year ago. Revenue for this group, which includes MTV, Comedy Central, Spike and Nickelodeon, rose 6 percent, to $2.54 billion. Along with slightly higher ad sales, subscriber revenue collectively increased by 10 percent in the quarter for Viacom’s cable networks, Mr. Dauman said.  A version of this article appears in print on January 31, 2014, on page B10 of the New York edition with the headline: Viacom Quarterly Profit Rises 16%, Lifted by Cable Fees and Lower Costs. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe
The company said fourth-quarter earnings were aided by higher subscriber fees and an increase in cable advertising, and that Paramount Pictures narrowed its loss from a year ago.