Gray Television reported lower fourth-quarter profits because of the costs related to a pair of acquisitions and lower political ad spending in a non-election year.
Net income was $16 million, or 17 cents a share, down from $211 million, or $2.24 a share, a year ago.,
Excluding transaction related expenses and non-cash stock compensation totaling $59 million, net income would have been $60 million, the company said.
Total revenue fell 9% to $721 million, mostly because of the drop in political advertising, the company said.
Gray acquired the Local Media Group of Meredith Corp. on December 1, 2021, and Quincy Media on August 2, 2021. Adjusting for those transactions, fourth-quarter revenue was down 24% in the fourth quarter, but core advertising, excluding political activity, increased 11%. Broadcast cashflow was $11 million, down 50%.
Looking forward, Gray provided guidance for the first quarter of 2022, forecasting total revenue of $789 to $812 million.
Local ad revenue is expected to be between $270 million and $275 million, with national revenue between $81 million and $86 million. Total core revenue will be in the $351 million to $361 million range, which would be an increase of between 0% and 3%.
The company expects first-quarter retransmission revenues of $380 million to $385 million, political revenue of $20 million to $25 million and production company revenue of $20 million to $22 million. ■
