Other Media Giants Post Mixed Results : Sale of Records Unit Pushes CBS Earnings Higher

CBS Inc. said Wednesday that its net profit from continuing operations rose sharply for the fourth quarter and year, but the gains came mostly from investing company cash in securities, and broadcasting profit fell 37%. However, net income for the quarter dropped 84% from strong results a year ago that included a huge gain on the sale of its magazine division.

Another media concern, New York Times Co., posted a 19% increase in profits. But the Washington Post Co. reported that its fourth-quarter profit dropped 42.7% from a year ago.

CBS’ net income for the company rose to $1.15 billion from $452.5 million in the year, but fell to $40.1 million from $251.6 million in the quarter. The bulk of the company’s net earnings for the year came from the sale of CBS Records, which boosted net profit by $866.6 million.

Excluding special gains and profit from discontinued operations, CBS profit rose 78% to $40.1 million in the fourth quarter and went up 108% to $283.4 million in the year.

Network earnings declined in the year to $232.4 billion from $232.8 billion, and for the quarter the unit’s profit fell to $12.4 million from $19.8 million.

“Profits of the CBS Broadcast Group were . . . limited by the 22-week strike of the Writers Guild of America and by (the cost of) extensive coverage of the presidential campaign,” Chief Executive Laurence A. Tisch said.

The strike led to a delay in the start of the fall television program season and lowered advertising revenue. While the networks all lost viewers, the CBS network’s ratings slumped most, falling to third out of the big three for much of the year.

Aside from the writers strike and the cost of campaign coverage, the absence of the Super Bowl, which was seen on CBS in the prior year, led to lower earnings at the CBS network in 1988. CBS-owned television stations had record profits, with notable gains at KCBS-TV Los Angeles and WBBM-TV Chicago.

New York Times Co. said its net income rose to $50.4 million in the fourth quarter from $42.5 million a year earlier.

Fourth-quarter revenue rose 3% to $450 million from $435.5 million a year earlier.

For the year, it said net income rose 5% to a record $167.7 million from $160.3 million a year ago.

Full-year revenue rose 4% to $1.7 billion from $1.6 billion in 1987.

Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, chairman and chief executive, said, “The softening in some markets is likely to result in a down first quarter in 1989.”

In addition to publishing the New York Times, the company has interests in regional newspapers, magazines, broadcasting and forest products.

Washington Post Co. said it earned $36.9 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $64.4 million a year earlier.

Fourth-quarter revenue rose 1.6% to $370.8 million from $365 million a year earlier.

The latest results included a $12.6-million charge related to a previously disclosed restructuring at Newsweek, while the 1987 earnings included $23.5 million in one-time gains from the sale of cellular telephone interests.

For the year, the company earned $269.1 million, up 44.1% from $186.7 million a year ago.

Full-year revenue rose 4% to $1.37 billion from $1.32 billion in 1987.