Univision Swings to Profit, Radio Down

Univision Communications on Tuesday said it swung to a fourth-quarter profit amid lower impairment losses and lower interest expenses and other items.

Its quarterly revenue edged up only slightly, as higher subscriber fees and a gain in content licensing revenue was mostly offset by lower "other" revenue "primarily due to revenue associated with special events in 2014 that did not reoccur in 2015 and other contractual revenue decreases." Its programming costs increased as content companies across the industry continue to spend more on shows they hope will draw a bigger audience.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Spanish-language media giant, which is planning an IPO, also disclosed on its earnings conference call details of its recent acquisition of a stake in the company behind satirical news outlet The Onion. Management said it paid $27.1 million for a 40.5 percent stake.

The stake in The Onion was a "complementary" extension that helped the company expand its reach and scale in multi-cultural millennial audiences, as have Univision's stakes in the El Rey and Fusion networks, Univision president and CEO Randy Falco explained on the call.

Univision on Tuesday posted earnings of $8.8 million for the fourth quarter, compared with a year-ago loss of $136.2 million. Quarterly operating earnings of $90.3 million compared with a year-ago loss of $88.2 million. Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA), another profitability metric, rose 2.7 percent to $335.2 million.

Quarterly revenue climbed 1.1 percent to $735.9 million. Advertising revenue edged up just 0.1 percent to $502.2 million amid lower political and advocacy advertising, while subscriber fee and content licensing revenue on a combined basis rose 3.4 percent to $233.7 million. Subscriber fee revenue was the key driver, with an increase of 8.5 percent to $183.2 million, primarily due to contractual rate increases and additional distribution of the Univision Deportes network.

Total revenue for Univision's radio segment in Q4 dropped at total of 12.2% to $72.1 million compared to $82.1 million in 2014. Non-advertising revenue in the radio segment (which is primarily other contractual revenue) decreased 48.6% to $3.7 million from $7.2 million. Univision owns 67 radio stations, including stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico. Total revenue -- including TV, network, digital, and radio -- was up 1.1% to $736 million.