With L.A. Times in Tow, Tribune Co.'s Profits Jump.Tribune Co., in its first earnings report since buying Times Mirror Co. for $8 billion, said second-quarter profit rose 14 percent on the popularity of its WB network-affiliated television stations. The publisher of the Chicago Tribune Chicago Tribune Daily newspaper published in Chicago. The Tribune is one of the leading U.S. newspapers and long has been the dominant voice of the Midwest. Founded in 1847, it was bought in 1855 by six partners, including Joseph Medill (1823–99), who made the paper and Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). said profit from continuing operations continuing operations Parts of a business that are expected to be maintained as an ongoing segment of an overall business operation. Income and losses from continuing operations are reported separately if any segments have been discontinued during the climbed to $119 million (44 cents a share), from $104.8 million (39 cents) a year earlier. Times Mirror's operations were included in the latest quarter's results beginning April 17. Sales jumped 79 percent to $1.33 billion from $743.7 million, boosted by the inclusion of the Times Mirror operations. Revenue from Tribune's 22 television stations rose 20 percent to $347.7 million, led by the company's WB affiliates This is a list of stations which were affiliated with The WB Television Network in the United States at the time of the network's closure. Note that all WB O&O's were through Tribune's stake in the network. The WB shut down September 17, 2006. in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Dallas and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , the purchase of WB stations in Atlanta, Washington and New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded , and gains at the WGN WGN Wellington WGN White Gaussian Noise WGN World's Greatest Newspaper (Chicago, IL, USA) WGN World Gastroenterology News WGN We Got Nomar WGN World's Greatest Network WGN Wireless Network Gateway WGN Wagon Superstation. "Tribune is outperforming the industry in terms of its broadcasting strength," said Peter Appert, a Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown analyst who has a "strong buy" rating on the shares. "The ad market in New York (at WPIX) is strong, and Los Angeles was up 15 percent." Tribune owns 25 percent of the WB Network, known for youthful programming such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Dawson's Creek." Time Warner Inc. owns the majority share. Tribune's WB-affiliated TV stations were buoyed by local news shows and syndicated programs such as "Friends," which made up for a slide in the ratings of some WB shows this season. The Chicago-based company was expected to earn 42 cents a share, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial. That had been reduced from the original 49-cent forecast when Tribune told analysts last month that the early closing of the Times Mirror purchase would cut profit by 6 cents a share. Tribune stock has fallen 38 percent this year, with most of the drop coming after the company said it would buy Times Mirror. "Obviously, it will take time for the company to digest the acquisition and get through the early stages without stumbling," said John Miller, assistant portfolio manager with Ariel Capital Management, which owned about 560,750 Tribune shares as of its June filing. "It will prove to be a good move in the long run." Tribune said revenue, assuming Times Mirror had been owned in both quarters, rose 8 percent to $1.49 billion. Pro-forma operating profit Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. rose 11 percent to $316 million. The acquisition closed June 12, though Tribune owned about 39 percent of Times Mirror on April 17. Revenue from the Tribune newspapers, including its flagship Tribune and Orlando Sentinel, rose 3 percent to $402.4 million from $389.6 million. Times Mirror papers, including the Los Angeles Times, Newsday on New York's Long Island and the Baltimore Sun, added another $503.6 million to revenue. Advertising revenue, excluding the Times Mirror papers, rose 5 percent to $309 million. Newsprint expenses, excluding Times Mirror papers, climbed 7 percent to $51 million because of higher prices. Tribune has agreed to sell Tribune Education business to McGraw-Hill Cos. for about $635 million and is looking to dispose of To determine the fate of; to exercise the power of control over; to fix the condition, application, employment, etc. of; to direct or assign for a use. See also: Dispose its Jeppesen and Times Mirror Magazine units in an effort to focus on its television, newspaper and Internet businesses. The company accounted for the businesses as discontinued operations Discontinued operations Divisions of a business that have been sold or written off and that no longer are maintained by the business. . In the latest quarter, Tribune had a loss of 33 cents a share from the discontinued operations, a gain of 9 cents from the sale of its stake in Digital City and a charge of 7 cents from investments in America Online Inc. and Mattel Inc. The items made net income $37.8 million, or 13 cents a share after preferred dividends. Separately, the Los Angeles Times last week announced the surprise appointment of Dean Baquet, national editor of The New York Times, as the paper's new managing editor. Observers had expected new L.A. Times Editor John Carroll to select someone from inside the Times organization for the No. 2 editorial post. Baquet will be the highest-ranking African-American in the history of the Los Angeles Times. |
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