Newfoundland Capital Corp. Ltd. has reported a 26% increase in second-quarter net profit as the radio station operator realized an almost 20% boost in revenue as a result station acquisitions in Toronto and Vancouver.
The Nova Scotia-based company, which has 95 radio licences across the country, says net earnings were $7.5 million or 26 cents per diluted share, up from just under $6 million or 20 cents per diluted share in the comparable 2013 period.
Revenue in the three months ended June 30 was $42.3 million, up from $35.4 million in the prior-year period.
The company said most of the $1.6-million increase in profit was as a result of the acquisitions as well as $800,000 in realized gains from the sale of securities.
In March the CRTC approved the sale of Bell Media‘s CHBM-FM and CFXJ-FM in Toronto as well as CKZZ-FM, CHHR-FM, and CISL-AM in Vancouver.
“The integration of the Toronto and Vancouver stations went as expected and has generated accretive results from day one,” president and chief executive Rob Steele said Wednesday in a statement accompanying the earnings report.
“In our other markets, revenue growth has been more of a challenge this year, particularly with national advertising revenue declining compared to the same periods in 2013. Our primary focus in the coming months is to grow revenue and to reduce discretionary spending so that EBITDA results continue to be strong.”
