Discovery Communications narrowly bested investor expectations for its second quarter thanks to strong advertising numbers and growth in distribution revenue, especially on the international side.

Discovery, which owns cable networks such as the Discovery Channel, TLC and the Animal Planet, netted $254 million in profit, a 20 per cent increase over the same period – or 70 per cent if one-time figures are included. Discovery made large debt payments that lowered its reported numbers in last year’s Q2.

In terms of revenue, the company raked in $1.07 billion, an increase of 11 per cent as compared to the second quarter last year. Discovery’s international networks were the big winners, growing revenue by 20 per cent. US networks increased by six per cent.

“Discovery continues to deliver strong financial results, particularly across our unique international platform, as the depth and breadth of our content assets have enabled the company to capitalise on the sustained ad market strength worldwide as well as take advantage of the evolution of pay-TV across the globe,” President and CEO David Zaslav said in a statement.

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