UPDATE 1-Gray Television posts lower 4th-qtr profit
(Adds details, Q1 revenue outlook)
March 13 (Reuters) - Gray Television Inc (GTN.N) reported a lower fourth-quarter profit due to a sharp decline in revenue from political advertising and guided first-quarter revenue below analysts' expectations.
The television broadcasting company earned $1.5 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with $7.8 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue fell 17 percent to $84.3 million.
Analysts on average were expecting the company to break even on revenue of $83.30 million in the fourth quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.
Operating expenses in the quarter fell due to lower sales representative commissions on reduced political revenues and a decrease in legal and non-cash stock-based compensation expense.
Political revenue fell 90 percent to $2.6 million, offset partially by a 6 percent increase in local advertising to $54.2 million. The company, which operates 36 TV stations most of which are affiliated with the CBS network, expects first-quarter revenue to range between $69.7 million and $70.5 million. Analysts were expecting $72.7 million. (Reporting by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty in Bangalore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
