CBS Swings to Profit in the Fourth Quarter

CBS swung to a profit in the fourth-quarter from a year ago period that included a major charge to write down the value of its television and radio businesses, the company said Tuesday.

CBS reported net income of $335 million, or 43 cents per share, in the October-December period. A year ago, the company reported a loss of $9.14 billion, or $12 per share. That included a charge of $9.48 billion for the asset impairment.

Adjusted to exclude items, earnings from continuing operations were $464 million, or 60 cents per share, versus $321.5 million, or 42 cents per share, a year ago.

The gain was driven by stronger results in television, outdoor advertising and publishing, which partially offset continued weakness at the company's radio unit.

Analysts, whose estimates typically exclude items, were looking for profit of 47 cents per share.

Revenue rose 2% to $3.88 billion from $3.79 billion a year ago and beat the Street's estimate of $3.83 billion.

The fourth quarter of 2005 was the first for CBS as a standalone company after it split from Viacom. The company also announced a buyback of $1.5 billion of its shares.