Olympics, Surging Economy Help CBS Bounce Back From Loss

CBS Corp. eked out a profit in the first quarter, reversing a steep loss from a year ago, as the Winter Olympics and a strong economy lifted advertising sales at its television and radio stations.

The media company Thursday reported net income of $19 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a loss from continuing operations of $91 million, or 18 cents, a year ago. It was expected to earn 2 cents a share, the average estimate of seven analysts polled by First Call Corp.

Revenue rose 47% to $1.95 billion.

The CBS network, which accounts for most of the company’s business, recorded operating profit of $30 million, reversing a $64-million loss from last year. While the company said its broadcast of the 1998 Winter Games in Japan were the main factor in the turnaround, it also cited improvements from its daytime and news programming, as well as cost-cutting.

Operating profit from television stations more than doubled to $118 million from $56 million, and was up 47% to $69 million in the radio station group, which includes the outdoor advertising business.

Shares in New York-based CBS rose 69 cents to close at $35.63 on the New York Stock Exchange.

At a Glance

Other earnings, shown excluding one-time gains and charges unless noted, include:

* Adaptec Inc.’s fiscal fourth-quarter profit dropped to $23.4 million, or 20 cents a diluted share, from a year ago, worse than the 28 cents a share analysts expected, on plunging sales of its adapter cards, used to link personal computers to printers and external devices. Revenue fell 23% to $203.6 million.

* MCI Communications Corp.’s profit fell 48% in the first quarter to $154.5 million, or 21 cents a diluted share, from a year ago, exceeding analysts’ forecasts of 18 cents. The revenue of the nation’s No. 2 long-distance company rose 8% to $5.29 billion. Volume, or the amount of time customers spent on its phone network, gained 14% and revenue from high-profit data and Internet services jumped 25%. Revenue and volume growth was offset by an increase in spending in new markets.

* MGM Grand Inc.’s first-quarter profit fell 46% to $16.3 million, or 28 cents a diluted share, from a year earlier, falling short the 30 cents analysts expected. Revenue fell 9% to $179.8 million. The casino company said in February that earnings would fall because of unusually low table-game winnings at its flagship Las Vegas property. Business also was weak at the year-old New York-New York casino in which MGM has half ownership.

Associated Press and Bloomberg News were used in compiling this report.