Fisher Communications Revenue Up 10% in Q1

Company Cites Pair of Recently Acquired Stations for Helping Revenue to Grow

By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/1/2008 11:54:00 AM

Fisher Communications reported that revenue for the first quarter of 2008 was up 10% from the same quarter last year, jumping from $34.2 million to $37.7 million.

The company cited a pair of recently acquired stations -- KBAK and KBXA in Bakersfield, Calif. -- for helping revenue to grow. Excluding revenue from the pair, television revenue grew 2.5% during the quarter for Fisher.

The Seattle-based company reported a loss from continuing operations of $1 million for the quarter compared with a loss from continuing operations of $1.3 million for the same quarter in 2007.

President and CEO Colleen Brown suggested that the growth would continue despite the nation’s economic downturn. "In the current environment, we are pleased with the first quarter of 2008 continuing our trend of revenue growth and margin improvement in our core TV business," she said. "We recognize that we have further room for improvement and have initiatives in place to get us there."

Fisher owns 13 full-power TV stations and eight low-power ones.