CINCINNATI - The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) reported a narrower first-quarter loss per share than analysts had anticipated, although its revenue fell short of expectations.
The media company posted a loss of $12.8 million, or -$0.15 per share for the first quarter of 2024, which was $0.07 better than the analyst consensus of -$0.22 per share. However, revenue for the quarter was $561.46 million, not quite reaching the consensus estimate of $570.05 million.
In the first quarter, Scripps experienced a 6.4% increase in revenue to $561 million compared to the same quarter last year, driven by strong Local Media political advertising and distribution revenues, as well as a lift in direct-response advertising in the Scripps Networks division.
Despite the revenue growth, the company still faced a net loss attributable to shareholders, which was an improvement from the previous year's loss of $31.1 million or -$0.37 per share. This year's loss included an $18.1 million investment gain and $5 million in restructuring costs.
Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson expressed satisfaction with the quarter's performance, citing close expense management and the strength of political advertising as key factors.
"Local political is coming on strong. We also are seeing green shoots in the national direct response advertising marketplace while scatter market pricing improved in Q1 2024 over Q1 2023," Symson said.
The company also raised its full-year guidance for 2024 election-year political advertising revenue to a range of $240 million to $270 million, up from the previously given range of $210 million to $250 million. This optimistic outlook is largely due to U.S. Senate races in Montana and Ohio, as well as controversial ballot issues in several states.
Scripps' Local Media segment reported a 13% increase in revenue to $353 million from the prior-year quarter, with political revenue at $15.2 million compared to just $3.5 million in the prior-year quarter, a non-election year.
Distribution revenue also saw a significant increase of 21% to $197 million. However, Scripps Networks revenue was down by 3.3% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking ahead, Scripps expects Local Media revenue to be up in the low-to-mid-single-digit percent range for the second quarter of 2024, with expenses following a similar trend. Scripps Networks revenue is projected to decrease in the mid-single-digit percent range, with a low-single-digit percent increase in expenses.
The company's financial condition remains focused on reducing debt, with $30.2 million in cash and cash equivalents and a total debt of $2.9 billion as of March 31. Scripps did not declare or provide payment for the first-quarter 2024 preferred stock dividend, opting instead for flexibility to accelerate deleveraging.
While specific stock movement percentages post-earnings were not provided, the company's performance and future guidance suggest a cautious optimism as it navigates the current media landscape and works towards its financial goals.
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