LIN TV Beats on the Top Line

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

LIN TV (NYS: TVL) reported earnings on March 14. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), LIN TV met expectations on revenue and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue contracted and GAAP earnings per share increased significantly.

Gross margin dropped, operating margin contracted, and net margin increased.

Revenue details
LIN TV notched revenue of $111.5 million. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $110.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 11% lower than the prior-year quarter's $125.1 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.18. The one earnings estimate compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.20 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.76 for Q4 were 100% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.38 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 68.6%, 540 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 27.0%, 920 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 38.5%, 2,170 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $101.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.09.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $456.7 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.88.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 37 members rating the stock outperform and 33 members rating it underperform. Among 23 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), seven give LIN TV a green thumbs-up, and 16 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on LIN TV is outperform, with an average price target of $5.00.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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