CBS Profit Soars in Q4

NEW YORK: CBS Corporation saw huge gains in its fourth quarter, with net profit soaring from $58.8 million to $283 million on revenues that were up 11 percent to $3.9 billion.

"CBS’s exceptional fourth-quarter results capped an extraordinary year for the company," said Sumner Redstone, executive chairman at CBS Corporation. "Our strategy of producing and distributing the best content is proving to be highly successful in a multiplatform world. Given our very talented management team, and our pipeline and library of industry-leading content that just keeps getting better, CBS is poised for continued success well into the future."

Leslie Moonves, president and CEO, added, "CBS’s momentum accelerated throughout 2010, culminating in our best results of the year in the fourth quarter. Every one of our operating groups achieved solid quarterly revenue growth, and double-digit OIBDA growth. On the television network, in domestic and international syndication, on cable and on new and emerging platforms, our content continues to outperform, and we’re increasingly being paid a premium for it as a result. The ongoing resurgence of our local businesses also had a very positive effect on the quarter. We see these positive trends—throughout our businesses—continuing into the first quarter of 2011, with robust network scatter and very strong local ad pacing. At the same time, we have maintained our strict discipline on controlling costs and taken significant steps to further strengthen our balance sheet and enhance shareholder value, including our $1.5 billion share buyback program, which we began implementing last month. Between the strength of our content, the way we’ve positioned our company for future growth and the ongoing improvement in the economic environment, we expect great things this year and beyond."

CBS Corp. recorded gains across its business segments, including entertainment revenues, which rose 11 percent to $2 billion, and cable networks, up 6 percent to $368.3 million. Overall, ad revenues rose 12 percent to $2.6 billion and content licensing and distribution intake gained 21 percent to $796 million.

For the full year, revenues rose 8 percent to $14.06 billion, with entertainment revenues up 6 percent to $7.4 billion and cable networks revenues climbing 9 percent to $1.5 billion. The year included a 12-percent jump in ad revenues to $9.15 billion, but content licensing and distribution revenues were down slightly to $3.1 billion. Overall net profit rose from $226.5 million to $724.2 million.