CBS Operating Profit Triples in First Quarter : Earnings: Figure surges to $54.2 million, but net sales drop 19% in wake of Super Bowl and Olympics.
CBS Inc. said Tuesday that operating profit tripled in the first quarter, giving the top-ranked network’s stock a sharp boost.
Profit from continuing operations surged to $54.2 million, or $3.50 a share, from $17.5 million, or $1.14 a share, a year earlier. The results exclude a charge last year for new accounting rules.
Net sales, which surged along with ratings in last year’s first quarter when CBS broadcast both the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl, fell this year.
CBS said sales were 19% lower, at $878.9 million, in 1993, from $1.08 billion a year ago.
In its earnings statement, CBS said its profit was aided by a pretax gain of $19.2 million on the sale of some marketable securities, as well as a shift in its programming mix.
The company’s popular entertainment and news shows have given it leeway to raise prices with advertisers.
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