E.W. Scripps Q2 Profit Declines

(RTTNews) - Media company E.W. Scripps Co. (SSP) reported Monday a profit for he second quarter that declined from last year, reflecting a drop in revenues amid lower television and newspaper revenues. The company noted that it successfully rolled out its bundled subscription model in 11 of 13 newspaper markets.

"Although masked by the near absence of political advertising in 2013, the off year for elections, our core television revenues showed good growth on the strength of expanding local audiences. Local, national and digital advertising all grew, and retransmission fees moved up 34 percent," Chairman, President and CEO Rich Boehne said in a statement.

The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company reported net income of $3.19 million or $0.05 per share for the second quarter, lower than $5.42 million or $0.09 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Consolidated operating revenues for the quarter declined 4.2 percent to $207.85 million from $216.93 million in the same quarter last year. Wall Street analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $211.80 million for the quarter.

Television revenues for the quarter decreased 4.9 percent to $111.4 million, and newspapers revenues declined 3.8 percent to $93.5 million from the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, syndication and other revenues increased 13.2 percent to $3,01 million from last year. "In the newspaper division, segment profit grew despite a moderate decline in print advertising due to expense discipline. We rolled out bundled digital and print subscriptions in 11 of our 13 markets and have been pleased with the growth in new digital-only subscribers," Boehne added.

Looking ahead, the company noted that it is rolling out the next generation of news apps and Internet news brands across the country this summer that is designed to set its brands apart for engagement with fast-growing audiences through high-quality enterprise reporting and multi-platform story telling.

The company is also on track to add 100 experienced digital advertising sales reps in its markets by the end of the year.

SSP closed Friday's regular trading session at $16.69, up $0.07 on a volume of 0.25 million shares.