Television station owner Tegna reported net income for the fourth quarter of $155.9 million. On a per-share basis, company said it had net income of 69 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 53 cents per share.
Results beat Wall Street forecasts of 46 cents per share from Zacks Investment Research.
Tegna used to be called Gannett, changed its name and spun off the publishing division last June.
The media division owns or operates 46 TV stations; the division reported a $6.6 revenue decline to $462.2 million.
Overall revenue totaled about $805 million; Compared to last year Q4, it was down due to a record $95 million in political ad revenue. That masked otherwise strong results, including double-digital increases in retransmission and online revenues and other “higher core” advertising, company Gracia Martore told analysts on the earnings call Tuesday.
However take away political, and Tegna revenues would have been up 12%.
Tegna said its non-GAAP net earnings — referring to adjusted or pro forma performance — for the three-month period ended Dec. 31 was $119.3 million, up from $112.6 million a year ago.
Revenue fell 4.4% to $805.3 million. Operating income was $326.9 million, up from $227.3 million a year ago.
