DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) swung to a fourth-quarter loss
as it took a $402.4 million write-down at its recently acquired
Newsday newspaper as profit dropped at its Madison Square Garden
unit.
Cable-television providers have been seeing slowing subscriber
growth due to the sagging economy and sharp drops in advertising
spending. In November, Cablevision shelved plans to consider the
spinout of some of its assets, citing the faltering economy and
slower customer growth.
Concerns about Cablevision's liquidity and its ability to repay
bond maturities coming due this year have weighed on its share
price. Two weeks ago, to ease investor worries, the company offered
to buy back $1.4 billion in debt. That came days after it returned
to the junk-bond market to raise $500 million and followed a
January high-yield offering that raised $750 million.
Cablevision - which last year added Newsday to its holdings that
include the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers - swung to a
net loss of $321.4 million, or $1.11 a share, from year-earlier net
income of $6.6 million, or 2 cents a share. The company said two
weeks ago it expected to take a write-down between $375 million and
$450 million at Newsday amid the newspaper industry's ad woes.
Revenue rose 11% to $2.05 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings,
excluding items, of 33 cents a share on revenue of $2.06
billion.
At Cablevision's telecommunications business, by far the
company's largest, revenue rose 7.9% and help earnings increase
11%. However, basic video subscriberships dropped 0.5% as the
company increased its customers for higher-priced products like
phone and Internet service.
In its Madison Square Garden business, which includes the sports
teams, revenue fell 2.1% as profit fell 86%, partly reflecting the
impact of the economy and increased costs on its entertainment
business.
Newsday, which the company acquired in July, added $107.1
million to net revenue during the quarter.
The company's Rainbow unit - which includes cable channels such
as AMC and IFC - posted a 14% increase in net revenue but swung to
a loss.
Cablevision shares closed Wednesday at $13.37 and were inactive
premarket. The stock is down nearly 60% the past six months.
-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5658;
mike.barris@dowjones.com