Sinclair 3Q Revenue Grows 11%

Sinclair Broadcast Group reported today that in the three months ended Sept. 31, its net broadcast revenues from continuing operations increased 11% to $497.4 million versus $448.1 million in the third quarter of 2014.

Operating income was $298.5 million, an increase of 4.5%, versus operating income of $285.7 million in the prior year period.

Net income was $43.3 million, versus net income of $48.3 million in the prior year period.

Diluted earnings per common share were $0.45 as compared to $0.49 in the prior year period.

Political revenues were $7.8 million versus $33.8 million in the third quarter of 2014.

Revenues from digital offerings increased 34% in the third quarter.

Sinclair President-CEO David Smith said: “Not only did our financial performance in the third quarter exceed our expectations, but we continued to expand our national footprint through additional station acquisitions, to enhance our digital distribution platform with the launch of our content and video management systems, and to offer more news, local sports and entertainment content to our viewers.  In addition, we returned just over half of our discretionary cash flow to our shareholders in the quarter.”

Smith continued: “We are equally excited about recent milestones on the adoption of the Next Generation Broadcast Platform, which we expect will redefine and increase the competitiveness and business use cases of television broadcasting in the future. ATSC 3.0 is an ‘all-IP’ system, supporting broadcast and broadband hybrid services. The Advanced Television Systems Committee’s elevation of the Physical Layer of ATSC 3.0 to Candidate Standard status now clears the way for the Federal Communications Commission to consider and adopt new rules to allow television broadcasters to better compete with other forms of media, telecom and technology companies in providing consumers a more robust and efficient delivery pipeline.”

Read the company’s report here.