Earnings: Scripps Q2 up 3.8 Percent; Op Income Slips

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Joseph Weisenthal

paidContent.org
Thursday, July 24, 2008; 8:07 AM

The separation of EW Scripps ( NYSE: SSP) and Scripps Interactive occurred on July 1, the day after Q2 ended, so this will be the last time the two Scripps report as one company: Total combined revenue for the quarter was $664.1 million, a 3.8 percent increase from $640.0 in the year-ago quarter. Net income comparisons were affected by a debt repurchase, but op income slipped 1.3 percent to $163.6 million.

The split between the cable/interactive segments and the old media newspaper segments tell you why they split the company in half. Revenue at Scripps Networks (which includes HGTV, Food Network, DIY) was up 13 percent to $349 million, with profit growing 9 percent to $180 million. Revenue at Shopzilla and uSwitch were up 13 percent to $66.9 million, with profits of $15.1 million, compares to $6.8 million, a big jump. The company cited growth at Shopzilla and lower costs at the challenged uSwitch business for the jump. It looks like these results continue a turnaround in this business that was evident last quarter, though top-line growth was a bit down.

And then at the newspaper business, it looks like any other newspaper company: Revenue was down 13 percent to $144 million. Segment profits were almost cut in half to $16.1 million from $30 million. For broadcast TV, revenue slipped to $80.5 million from $84.5 million, and profits fell to $18.3 million from $23.5 million.

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