Belo's 4Q Profit Jumps 79 Percent On Campaign Ads

DALLAS (AP) - TV station owner Belo Corp. on Tuesday said its fourth-quarter net income jumped 79 percent, powered by a wave of campaign ad spending during the November elections.

This year's hard-fought midterms, in which Republicans took back control of the House of Representatives, offered a boon for the local TV industry. The company's 20 percent revenue increase came primarily from political ads, which brought in close to $36 million in the fourth quarter.

Belo's net income in the three months that ended Dec. 31 climbed to $39.9 million, or 38 cents per share, from $22.3 million, or 21 cents per share, in the quarter a year ago. Revenue climbed to $206 million from $171 million.

Belo said ad revenue in the first quarter is likely to climb only in the "low single digits" on a percentage basis compared with the same quarter last year, when the company benefited from political spending, Olympics revenue and having the Super Bowl air on its five CBS affiliates. This year the Super Bowl aired on its one Fox affiliate.

Nevertheless, Belo shares gained 37 cents, or 5 percent, to close Tuesday at $7.81.

The company said its full-year net income came to $86.9 million, or 83 cents per share, compared with a loss of $109 million, or $1.06 per share, in 2009. Full-year revenue climbed more than 16 percent to $687 million from $590 million.