Westwood One Tops Expectations
Westwood One
(WON)
reported fourth-quarter earnings this morning that beat Wall Street's slightly lowered estimates by 3 cents, and the company attributed operating cash flow gains in the latest period to increasing revenue.
For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, Westwood One earned $17.8 million, or 16 cents a share, up from $14.4 million, or 12 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Three analysts surveyed by
First Call/Thomson Financial
expected the company, which is based in New York, to earn 13 cents a share.
Westwood One said its operating cash flow reached $54.7 million, up 13% from $48.5 million in the same quarter last year. The company cited higher revenue and benefits from its
Metro Networks
division as factors in its growth.
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The company, which supplies radio and television stations with information services and programming, also posted fourth-quarter revenue of $156.1 million, up from $154.5 million in the same quarter last year.
In January, Westwood One agreed to distribute
MTV's
hugely popular "Total Request Live" to radio fans beginning March 1. MTV is a division of
Viacom
(VIA) - Get Report
.
Shares of Westwood One gained 65 cents, or 3.3%, to $20.12 in recent
New York Stock Exchange
trading.
