TEGNA's Q4 op income rises on lower expenses, revenue falls 4.4%

TEGNA, the media company that operates TV stations and Cars.com, said Tuesday its fourth quarter operating income rose 44% despite lower political advertising sales because it cut expenses and Cars.com reported higher revenue.

Net income from continuing operations fell to $155.9 million from $483.4 million in the year ago period. The decline was largely due to the fact that the year-ago quarter included $444.2 million of non-operating income stemming from the write up of its investment in Classified Ventures, a former parent of Cars.com.

TEGNA said its "non-GAAP" net earnings -- referring to adjusted or pro forma performance -- for the three-month period ended Dec. 31 was $119.3 million, up from $112.6 million a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share totaled 53 cents, up 8% and better than the 46 cents estimated by analysts who were polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Revenue fell 4.4% to $805.3 million. Operating income was $326.9 million, up from $227.3 million a year ago.

In June, 2015, TEGNA, which was formerly called Gannett, changed its name and spun off the publishing division. The spun-off company, which owns Paste BN, retained the Gannett name.

TEGNA's media division, which operates or provides services to 46 TV stations, reported a 6.6% revenue decline to $462.2 million.

Revenue for the digital division, which includes Cars.com and CareerBuilder.com, dipped 1.2% to $343 million. Its adjusted revenue, after accounting for businesses sold, rose 2.2%, TEGNA said.