CBS Profit Rises Despite Slip in Revenue -- Update

By Amol Sharma 

CBS Corp. reported a 6% increase in net income for the March quarter, even as revenue slipped from the year-earlier period, when the company benefited from its flagship network's telecast of the Super Bowl.

The company's growth in the quarter came primarily from content-licensing and subscription revenues such as carriage fees from pay-TV operators.

CBS's entertainment unit, which houses the flagship CBS broadcast network, posted a 5% drop in operating income before depreciation and amortization, or OIBDA. Revenue in the unit decreased 9%. In the year-earlier period, CBS generated more than $280 million in revenue from broadcasting the Super Bowl. It also benefited last year from the telecast of the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which was on cable TV this year.

The CBS network is poised for another season as the No. 1 broadcaster in terms of total viewers. But it has slipped from first to third place among adults aged 18 to 49, a demographic advertisers pay a premium to reach.

Overall, CBS's operating income edged up 2% to $818 million. Revenue fell about 5% to $3.9 billion. Net income in the first quarter was $468 million, or 78 cents per share, up from $443 million, or 69 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

The cable networks division reported a 12% increase in OIBDA. Growth came from licensing of programming from the Showtime premium-cable channel and higher revenue from cable operators.

In the outdoor business, which sells ad space on billboards, OIBDA fell 7% to $69 million even as revenue grew 2%. CBS late in the quarter completed an initial public offering of the unit, forming a separate publicly traded company, CBS Outdoor Americas Inc.

Write to Amol Sharma at [e-mail]

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