CBS profits surge on digital, overseas sales

CBS/AP

(AP) LOS ANGELES - CBS Corp.'s (CBS) net income grew 80 percent in the first quarter, as revenue surged on digital licensing deals for its TV shows and overseas sales of reruns (CBSNews.com, a unit of CBS Interactive, is owned by CBS Corp.)

Net profit rose to $363 million, or 54 cents per share. That's up from $202 million, or 29 cents per share, a year ago.

Unusual items offset each other; the adjusted earnings of 54 cents per share blew by the 44 cents per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $3.92 billion, also beating the $3.79 billion analysts were looking for.

The company also spent $269 million buying back shares during the quarter.

CBS shares rose 73 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $34.15 in extended trading after the results were released.