- Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ:SBGI) is up 0.7% premarket after it topped expectations with its Q4 results amid core ad revenue growth.
- Overall revenues grew 25% to $893.3M, and political revenues for the election-year quarter were $149.6M vs. a prior-year $15.5M.
- "Building on a base of $255M in political ad spending for 2018 and a number of candidates already declaring their candidacy for the Presidency, we expect 2020's political advertising to be yet another record year for us, with some of the ad spending expected as early as the fourth quarter of this year," says CEO Chris Ripley.
- Meanwhile, distribution revenues in Q4 rose to $334.1M from $299.9M.
- And digital revenues rose 22.5% Y/Y.
- Operating income fell to $263M from $357.6M (which included a $225M gain for vacating spectrum in some markets). Net income of $206.2M was down from $443.5M, which included a $272M benefit from tax reform.
- Revenue breakout: Media revenues, $848.9M (up 22.5%); Non-media revenues, $44.5M (up 129%).
- For Q1, it's guiding to media revenues of $667M-$673M (including $2M in political revenues and $344M-$347M in distribution revenues).
- Previously: Sinclair Broadcast beats by $0.15, beats on revenue (Feb. 27 2019)
- Press release