Tribune Reports Mixed Q1 Earnings
TV Revenue Up, Operating Profit Down
By Robert Marich -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/9/2008 11:01:00 AM
A sagging newspaper business blew a hole in Tribune’s first-quarter earnings Thursday, although its broadcasting and entertainment operation held up.
The Chicago-based media conglomerate incurred a pretax loss of $30.2 million from continuing operations in the three months ended March 31, compared with a pretax profit of $30.8 million from continuing operations a year earlier. Financier Sam Zell took control of Tribune via an $8.2 billion buyout that provided tax credits sheltering first-quarter net income, which skyrocketed on noncash gains.
Revenue slid 8% to $1.11 billion. Perhaps reflecting impact of Zell, total operating expenses fell 5% to $971.3 million.
Looking at business segments, broadcasting/entertainment revenue advanced 3% to $291.7 million. Broadcasting/entertainment operating profit more than doubled to $135.2 million, but that was mostly from booking a nonrecurring $83 million gain from the sale of a Hollywood facilities lot.
Looking at TV alone within the broadcasting/entertainment segment, TV revenue rose 5% to $278 million, although TV operating profit declined 6% to $63 million from higher compensation and program expenses. Revenue grew due to higher sales of national television advertising.
