Media Stocks Rising Following Earnings Releases

Washington Post Co. (NYSE:WPO) reported its results for the fourth quarter. Net income for Washington Post Co. fell to $61.7 million ($8.03 per share) vs. $79 million ($9.42 per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 21.9% from the year-earlier quarter. Revenue fell 10% to $1.06 billion from the year-earlier quarter. Washington Post Co. beat the mean analyst estimate of $5.36 per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $1.04 billion.

Competitors to Watch: The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO), The Princeton Review, Inc (NASDAQ:REVU), Apollo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOL), DeVry Inc. (NYSE:DV), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE), Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO), National American Univ. Hldgs., Inc. (NASDAQ:NAUH), Strayer Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA), and Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (NYSE:BPI).

The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP) reported its results for the fourth quarter. Net income for The E.W. Scripps Company fell to $6.3 million (11 cents per share) vs. $25.6 million (40 cents per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 75.5% from the year-earlier quarter. Revenue fell 10.4% to $197.4 million from the year-earlier quarter. The E.W. Scripps Company fell short of the mean analyst estimate of 17 cents per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $193.6 million.

“We substantially repositioned Scripps in 2011, clearing the way for improved performance in 2012, enlarging our television footprint, and enabling an aggressive rollout of new digital products and services,” said Rich Boehne, Scripps president and CEO.

“Late in the year, targeting holiday shoppers with new smartphones and tablets, we launched a series of paid news and weather apps that represent the next generation of market-defining digital products that we’re developing. We intend to continue the evolution of these products, building out what we believe will be a valuable digital marketplace for services built upon high-quality local news content.”

“Behind all the noise in our fourth-quarter results were businesses that ended the year on a high note. Television revenues grew at a double-digit clip, the result of both solid recovery in key TV advertising categories and strong performance in our most valuable time slots – those programmed with high-quality local news. At the same time, we completed the opportunistic acquisition of nine additional TV stations concentrated in three of America’s best media markets – Indianapolis, Denver and San Diego. Together, they offer the prospect of a strong return on investment for our shareholders. “Newspaper advertising declines continue to narrow and our operating model continues to focus on audiences and revenue categories that offer the best long-term opportunity for sustainable profits,” said Boehne. “Despite this restaging of the company in 2011, we finished the year with a strong balance sheet and good financial flexibility.”

Competitors to Watch: Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA), Lee Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:LEE), Journal Communications, Inc. (NYSE:JRN), The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), Media General, Inc. (NYSE:MEG), The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), GateHouse Media, Inc. (GHSE), and A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE:AHC).

To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Hoffman at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com