PROVIDENCE – For the quarter ended March 31, LIN TV Corp. (NYSE: TVL) today reported net income of $20.7 million or 42 cents per diluted share compared with a loss of $4.3 million or 9 cents per diluted share in the first quarter of 2006.
Net revenue for the television station owner-operator increased 3 percent to $93.1 million as growth in station market-share, local advertising (up 7 percent, excluding political ads), digital revenue and the acquisition of KASA-TV in Albuquerque offset decreases in national and political advertising. Internet-only revenue increased 57 percent, the company said.
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The company credited income from the $131.9 million sale of its Puerto Rican operations – net proceeds from the sale, which closed March 30, were used to pay down the company’s credit line and loans from its purchase of KASA-TV – together with an increase in new business revenue and a decrease in station operating costs. Operating expenses decreased 3 percent to $78.0 million as depreciation and amortization costs decreased and the company trimmed personnel expenses.
“We are pleased with our first quarter performance and our growth in revenue, despite tough comparisons to the first quarter of 2006, when we benefited from substantial national advertising on our five NBC stations during the Olympics and last year’s record political year,” said President and CEO Vincent L. Sadusky. “Our ongoing efforts to develop digital and interactive products are providing great momentum for what we believe will be a robust advertising market in late 2007 and early 2008.”
Other first-quarter highlights cited in the report included LIN’s retransmission agreements with Cox Communications and Verizon and the broadcast and Internet viewing records set by WISH-TV in Indianapolis as the local Colts headed to the Super Bowl.
LIN TV Corp. (NYSE: TVL), parent of Providence’s WPRI-TV and WNAC-TV, owns and operates 29 TV stations in 17 mid-sized markets. Additional information is available at www.lintv.com.
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