By: (AP) Media company Belo Corp. said profits rose 11% from a year ago and the third quarter ended stronger than expected.
Belo, owner of
The Dallas Morning News, said Wednesday it earned $31.1 million, or 27 cents per share in the July-September period, compared to $28 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier.
Belo said it would have earned 25 cents per share if it had expensed stock options.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected profit of 25 cents per share.
Revenue rose to $356.3 million from $347.6 million, and operating costs and expenses rose 1.6%.
The company said fourth-quarter earnings would be 36 cents per share to 38 cents per share. Analysts are expecting 35 cents per share.
Belo said third-quarter newspaper revenue rose 2.6% and television overcame the uneven economy and lower political advertising to grow 1.3%.
For the first nine months of the year, Belo said earnings rose slightly to $86.1 million, or 75 cents per share, from $85.3 million, or 75 cents per share last year. Revenue increased to $1.05 billion from $1.03 billion.
Belo owns 19 television stations and four daily newspapers.
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