paidContent - Earnings: Belo Profits Tank
This story was written by David Kaplan.
The splitting off into an independent TV company and a newspaper company doesn’t seem to be paying off for Belo (NYSE: BLC) these days. Following the bleak earnings from AH Belo (NYSE: AHC), its newspaper sibling, local broadcaster Belo Corp. said Q2 profits were down 61.2 percent to $10.2 million. Revenues declined 23 percent, mostly due to the sharp pullback in auto ads during the quarter, as well as the absence of political advertising compared to last year.
Online was similarly affected. Ads at the TV station’s websites were down 5.1 percent to $7.1 million in Q2. Online provides about 5 percent of Dallas-based Belo’s total revenue.
| 2Q 2009 | 2Q 2008 | |
|---|---|---|
| EPS | $0.10 | -$0.25 |
| Net Income | $10.2M | -$26.3M |
| Revenue | $144.7M | $188.9M |
Earnings release | Webcast (2:00 PM EDT)
By David Kaplan