Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia swung to a first-quarter loss of $7.5 million, as the dark cloud over Chairman and CEO Martha Stewart’s sale of ImClone Systems shares combined with lower revenue from her syndicated TV series to weigh on the company’s performance.
A year earlier, the company reported a profit of $5.8 million. Revenue for the period slipped nearly 15 percent to $58 million, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were negative at minus-$5.4 million from $6.8 million a year earlier.
In terms of the company’s television assets, the company said its TV revenues fell 1 percent to $6.7 million, as strong revenue from cable shows was offset by weakness in ad sales at its syndicated program and the loss of airtime on CBS’s The Early Show.
Revenue at the publishing unit tumbled 21 percent to $34.1 million, hurt by weakening advertising and circulation numbers.
Clear Channel Reports 21 Percent Profit Drop
Clear Channel Communications, the radio giant that also owns 36 television stations, on Wednesday reported a 21 percent drop in first-quarter profit to $71 million as revenue climbed nearly 5 percent to $1.78 billion on the strength of revenue at its outdoor and television businesses.
A year ago San Antonio-based Clear Channel recorded a profit of $90.3 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization slipped 1.5 percent to $376 million for the period. The company lumps together its television and media and sports representation businesses and reported a 23.7 percent jump in revenue in that group to $125.4 million for the quarter. Earnings were flat at $15.8 million.
Granite Reports First-Quarter Loss
Granite Broadcasting Corp. reported a narrower first-quarter loss of $10.3 million, helped in part by a huge boost in advertising revenue at its San Francisco WB affiliate KBWB-TV. A year earlier New York-based Granite reported red ink of $163.5 million.
Revenue for the period sank 50 percent, hurt by the absence of KNTV-TV, the San Francisco NBC affiliate that Granite sold in April 2002. Without the impact of KNTV, Granite’s same-station revenue rose 4 percent to nearly $24.7 million. Same-station earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell into the negative, hitting minus-$412 million from a year-earlier figure of $1.9 million. Broadcast cash flow plunged 42 percent to $2.4 million.