NBC Universal operating profit down 15% in third quarter

A strong performance from its movie studio, theme parks and cable TV channels was not enough to offset a 15% tumble in NBC Universal’s third-quarter operating profit, largely resulting from an unfavorable comparison with the year-earlier period and higher network programming expenses.

The media company, owned by industrial giant General Electric Co., on Friday reported operating profit of $625 million for the period that ended Sept. 30. That compared with $732 million for the year-earlier period. Revenue for NBC Universal was flat at $4.06 billion.

In a conference call with analysts, GE Chief Financial Officer Keith Sherin said the media company faced tough comparisons with third-quarter results of 2009, which included a gain from the company’s sale of most of its stake in the A&E Networks. “The operating performance was better than reported,” Sherin said, calling NBC’s results a “pretty solid quarter.”

Excluding the one-time benefit of the A&E sale, NBC would have notched a 5% increase in profit.

Film studio Universal Pictures saw its operating profit soar 57%. A year earlier, the studio was in disarray after a prolonged slump at the box office, but this year’s results were buoyed by the animated hit movie “Despicable Me.”

“Theme parks had the best quarter in its history with operating profit up 59%, the result of the new Harry Potter attraction in Orlando and the new King Kong 360 in Hollywood,” NBC Universal’s outgoing Chief Executive Jeff Zucker said in an e-mail to his staff.

The cable TV division continued to deliver profits. Bravo had its best quarter ever, and financial news network CNBC’s profit was up 5%. Local TV station advertising also exploded. “Local Media was up an amazing 87%, as increased revenues from a resurging local ad market hit the bottom line,” Zucker said.

The broadcast network again put a damper on earnings. NBC spent $50 million more developing new shows for the fall, in part to fill the 10 p.m. hour after the disastrous Jay Leno experiment in prime time. But so far, NBC’s big bets for the fall season, including “The Event” and “Outlaw,” have failed to score. Instead, broadcasts of NFL football have kept the network in the ratings game.

GE is in the process of turning over its controlling interest in NBC Universal to Philadelphia cable giant Comcast Corp. Sherin said GE was cooperating with federal regulators scrutinizing the proposed joint venture and was hopeful that the deal would close by the end of the year. After the merger, Comcast would own 51% of NBC Universal and GE would retain 49%.

Overall, GE, based in Fairfield, Conn., saw its profit for the third quarter decline 18% to $2.06 billion. Revenue of $35.9 billion was down 5% compared with the year-earlier period, short of analysts’ expectations. GE’s shares slipped 5% to $16.30 in regular trading.

meg.james@latimes.com