Scripps Networks Interactive Reports Third Quarter Financial Results

November 6, 2009 7:30 AM EST

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. (NYSE: SNI) today reported operating results for the third quarter 2009.

Results for the three-month period ended Sept. 30 reflect strong affiliate fee revenue growth and improved advertising sales at the company's flagship cable television networks, Food Network and HGTV.

Consolidated revenue for the quarter was flat relative to the prior year period at $364 million. Total revenue from the company's portfolio of Lifestyle Media television networks, Web sites and other related businesses was up 4.3 percent for the period compared with last year.

Consolidated expenses for the quarter decreased 4.5 percent year over year.

Third quarter net income attributable to Scripps Networks Interactive was $65.3 million, or 39 cents per share, compared with $57.3 million, or 35 cents, in the third quarter 2008. In the third quarter 2008, net income was reduced by 3 cents per share due to a $4.5 million charge that resulted from a re-measurement of the company's deferred tax liabilities. The re-measurement was related to the company's spinoff from its former parent.

In the third quarter 2009, consolidated segment profit was up 7.9 percent to $144 million from $134 million in the prior-year period. (See Note 2 for a definition of segment profit). The company generated $157 million in cash from continuing operations.

Led by HGTV and Food Network, revenue at the company's Lifestyle Media business segment grew 4.3 percent to $326 million. Lifestyle Media advertising revenue grew slightly while affiliate fee revenue was up 16 percent on higher rates for HGTV and expanding distribution of all of the company's television networks.

Other television networks operated by Scripps Networks Interactive include DIY Network, Great American Country (GAC) and Fine Living Network (FLN). The company announced in October that it is rebranding FLN to the new Cooking Channel. The rebranding is expected to be completed sometime during the third quarter of 2010.

Non-programming expenses at the Lifestyle Media segment were down 3.3 percent, while programming amortization costs were up 7.0 percent. Total expenses for the segment were up 1.2 percent for the quarter. The company has said that it expects programming amortization expenses to increase by 9 to 11 percent for the full year. Non-programming costs are expected to be flat to down slightly for the year.

Lifestyle Media segment profit during the third quarter grew 8.3 percent to $150 million from the prior year period.

Revenue from the company's Interactive Services business segment, which includes online comparison shopping services Shopzilla and BizRate, was $39.0 million during the third quarter compared with $52.1 million during the same period in 2008. The company's initiatives to reposition and differentiate Shopzilla's products continue to show positive trends. The number of product offers available to consumers has nearly doubled since the last holiday season, and leads to Shopzilla merchant partners in the quarter grew 19 percent year over year. The lead volume metric is important because it measures the value Shopzilla is delivering to its direct merchant partners, as well as the level of engagement that consumers are having with the core content on its branded comparison shopping Web sites at BizRate.com and Shopzilla.com.

Interactive Services expenses were down 20 percent as a result of actions the company has taken to establish a lower cost structure for the business.

Interactive Services segment profit was $6.4 million in the third quarter compared with $11.5 million during the same period a year earlier. The company expects Shopzilla segment profit to be above $30 million for the full year.

"Scripps Networks Interactive had a solid third quarter, delivering revenue and segment profit growth in the midst of the challenging macro-economic environment," said Kenneth W. Lowe, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "An improving advertising market for cable television networks and double-digit growth in affiliate fee revenue drove the company's consolidated results.

"At our Lifestyle Media businesses, Food Network and HGTV continued to perform exceptionally well, attracting ever-growing numbers of engaged viewers and solidifying their competitive positions as television's leading destinations for food- and home-oriented lifestyle content," Lowe said. "Audience growth has been particularly robust at Food Network, which for the first time in its history ranked among the Top-10 U.S. cable networks.

"At our Interactive Services businesses, BizRate and Shopzilla generated segment profit in line with our expectations in large part due to the lower cost structure we've achieved. Initiatives under way to improve the online shopping experience for both consumers and merchants also are driving positive trends, including an increase in the number of qualified leads we're sending to our merchant partners."

The reporting of quarterly financial results comes a day after the company announced it will enter into a joint venture with Cox Communications Inc., by which it will acquire a controlling interest in the Travel Channel. The two companies Thursday signed a definitive agreement that, upon completion, will result in Scripps Networks Interactive owning 65 percent of the Travel Channel and Cox Communications retaining a 35 percent stake in the network.

The Travel Channel transaction, which will be structured as a leveraged joint venture, is expected to be completed by or before January 2010.

Here are third-quarter results by operating segment:

Lifestyle Media

Total Lifestyle Media revenue was $326 million, up 4.3 percent. Affiliate fee revenue grew 16 percent to $81.1 million. Advertising revenue was $237 million, up 0.5 percent.

Total expenses increased 1.2 percent. Programming expenses increased 7.0 percent to $79.8 million. Non-programming costs decreased 3.3 percent to $95.3 million.

Lifestyle Media segment profit was $150 million compared with $139 million in the prior-year period.

Operating revenue at HGTV was $153 million, up 6.4 percent. HGTV now reaches 99 million subscribers compared with about 97 million at the end of the third quarter 2008.

Food Network operating revenue was $119 million, up 5.1 percent. Food Network reaches 99 million subscribers, up from about 97 million at the end of the third quarter 2008.

Revenue at DIY Network was up 11 percent to $17.7 million. DIY can be seen in about 52 million households, up from about 48 million households a year ago.

Fine Living Network (FLN) revenue was $11.2 million, down 13 percent, reflecting lower-than-anticipated audience levels since becoming a rated network at the beginning of the year. Fine Living reaches 56 million households vs. 52 million households last year.

Revenue at Great American Country (GAC) increased 9.5 percent to $6.4 million. Great American Country can be seen in about 57 million homes compared with about 54 million homes a year ago.

Revenue from the Lifestyle Media segment's interactive businesses (SN Digital) was $17.5 million, down 8.4 percent.

Interactive Services

Interactive Services revenue was $39.0 million compared with $52.1 million.

Segment expenses decreased 20 percent to $32.6 million.

Segment profit was $6.4 million compared with $11.5 million.

Conference call

The senior management team of Scripps Networks Interactive will discuss the company's third quarter results and proposed Travel Channel acquisition during a telephone conference call at 10 a.m. ET today. Scripps Networks Interactive will offer a live webcast of the conference call. To access the webcast, visit www.scrippsnetworksinteractive.com and follow the Investor Relations link at the top of the page. The webcast link can be found next to the microphone icon.

To access the conference call by telephone, dial 1-800-288-8976 (U.S.) or 612-332-0342 (international) approximately ten minutes before the start of the call. Callers will need the name of the call, "Scripps Networks Interactive," to be granted access. Callers also will be asked to provide their name and company affiliation. The media and general public are granted access to the conference call on a listen-only basis.

A replay line will be open from 12 p.m. ET Nov. 6 until 11:59 p.m. ET Nov. 13. The domestic number to access the replay is 800-475-6701 and the international number is 320-365-3844. The access code for both numbers is 122842. A replay of the conference call will also be available online. To access the audio replay, visit www.scrippsnetworksinteractive.com approximately four hours after the call, choose Investor Relations, then follow the Audio Archives link on the left side of the page.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements related to the company's businesses that are based on management's current expectations. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, including changes in advertising demand and other economic conditions that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. The company's written policy on forward-looking statements can be found on page F-3 of its 2008 Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date the statement is made.

About Scripps Networks Interactive

Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. is one of the leading developers of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet, where on-air programming is complemented with online video, social media areas and e-commerce components on companion Web sites and broadband vertical channels. The company's media portfolio includes: Lifestyle Media, with popular lifestyle television and Internet brands HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living Network (FLN) and country music network Great American Country (GAC); and Interactive Services, with leading online search and comparison shopping services BizRate and Shopzilla.


SCRIPPS NETWORKS INTERACTIVE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED AND COMBINED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(unaudited)       Three months ended                 Nine months ended

                  September 30,                      September 30,

(in thousands,
except per        2009         2008       Change     2009         2008       Change
share data)

Operating       $ 364,461    $ 364,187    0.1 %    $ 1,111,509  $ 1,145,358  (3.0)%
revenues

Costs and         (220,197)    (230,468)  (4.5)%     (661,879)    (682,224)  (3.0)%
expenses

Depreciation
and
amortization      (20,666)     (16,683)   23.9 %     (58,570)     (48,655)   20.4 %
of intangible
assets

Gains (losses)
on disposal of    (898)                              (967)        (835)      15.8 %
PP&E

Operating         122,700      117,036    4.8 %      390,093      413,644    (5.7)%
income

Interest          (285)        (2,199)    (87.0)%    (1,021)      (13,309)   (92.3)%
expense

Equity in
earnings of       4,873        5,418      (10.1)%    12,834       14,177     (9.5)%
affiliates

Losses on
repurchases of                                                    (26,380)
debt

Miscellaneous,    (1,321)      1,113                 (721)        11
net

Income from
continuing
operations        125,967      121,368    3.8 %      401,185      388,143    3.4 %
before income
taxes

Provision for     (41,544)     (43,841)   (5.2)%     (130,449)    (145,759)  (10.5)%
income taxes

Income from
continuing        84,423       77,527     8.9 %      270,736      242,384    11.7 %
operations,
net of tax

Income (loss)
from
discontinued      676          (879)                 (1,885)      741
operations,
net of tax

Net income        85,099       76,648     11.0 %     268,851      243,125    10.6 %

Less: net
income
attributable      (19,779)     (19,321)   2.4 %      (63,879)     (66,021)   (3.2)%
to
noncontrolling
interests

Net income
attributable    $ 65,320     $ 57,327     13.9 %   $ 204,972    $ 177,104    15.7 %
to SNI

Diluted income
per share:

Income from
continuing
operations      $ 0.39       $ 0.35                $ 1.26       $ 1.07
attributable
to SNI common
shareholders

Income (loss)
from
discontinued
operations,       0.00         (0.01)                (0.01)       0.00
net of tax,
attributable
to SNI common
shareholders

Net income
attributable    $ 0.39       $ 0.35                $ 1.24       $ 1.08
to SNI common
shareholders

Weighted
average
diluted shares    165,736      164,472               164,760      164,472
outstanding
(1)

Amounts
attributable
to SNI:

Income from
continuing      $ 64,644     $ 58,206              $ 206,857    $ 176,363
operations

Income (loss)
from
discontinued      676          (879)                 (1,885)      741
operations,
net of tax

Net income
attributable    $ 65,320     $ 57,327              $ 204,972    $ 177,104
to SNI




For comparison purposes, results in the first half of 2008 include estimates of
Scripps Networks Interactive's portion of The E. W. Scripps Company's corporate
expenses for those periods. Such estimates are not representative of our costs
as a stand-alone company.




(1) For the periods presented prior to July 1, 2008, diluted EPS was computed
    using the number of common shares outstanding on the spin-off-date.

Net income per share amounts may not foot since each is calculated
independently.

See notes to results of operations.




SCRIPPS NETWORKS INTERACTIVE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(unaudited)                                        As of

                                                   September 30,    December 31,

(in thousands, except per share data)              2009             2008

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents                        $ 11,120         $ 9,970

Short-term investments                             162,883          2,703

Accounts and notes receivable (less allowances:    331,689          368,593
2009- $4,561; 2008- $5,014)

Programs and program licenses                      236,443          238,319

Assets of discontinued operations                  23,256           22,068

Other current assets                               15,697           13,651

Total current assets                               781,088          655,304

Investments                                        43,222           40,279

Property, plant and equipment, net                 207,072          191,414

Goodwill                                           424,213          424,213

Other intangible assets, net                       90,017           103,628

Programs and program licenses (less current        222,172          235,967
portion)

Unamortized network distribution incentives        80,283           107,796

Other non-current assets                           17,794           14,607

Total Assets                                     $ 1,865,861      $ 1,773,208

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable                                 $ 6,720          $ 13,231

Program rights payable                             17,111           15,240

Customer deposits and unearned revenue             14,682           11,045

Employee compensation and benefits liabilities     33,996           35,259

Accrued marketing and advertising costs            10,133           16,695

Liabilities of discontinued operations             8,464            10,905

Other accrued liabilities                          49,844           66,277

Total current liabilities                          140,950          168,652

Deferred income taxes                              123,544          131,903

Long-term debt                                                      80,000

Other liabilities (less current portion)           119,420          104,239

Total liabilities                                  383,914          484,794

Redeemable noncontrolling interest                 5,200            9,400

Equity:

SNI shareholders' equity:

Preferred stock, $.01 par - authorized:
25,000,000 shares; none outstanding

Common stock, $.01 par:

Class A - authorized: 240,000,000 shares; issued
and                                                1,293            1,272
outstanding: 2009 - 129,261,498 shares; 2008 -
127,184,107 shares

Voting - authorized: 60,000,000 shares; issued
and                                                363              366
outstanding: 2009 - 36,338,226 shares; 2008 -
36,568,226 shares

Total                                              1,656            1,638

Additional paid-in capital                         1,257,919        1,219,930

Retained earnings (deficit)                        47,192           (120,774)

Accumulated other comprehensive income             36,916           31,487

Total SNI shareholders' equity                     1,343,683        1,132,281

Noncontrolling interests                           133,064          146,733

Total equity                                       1,476,747        1,279,014

Total Liabilities and Equity                     $ 1,865,861      $ 1,773,208




SCRIPPS NETWORKS INTERACTIVE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED AND COMBINED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(unaudited)                                               Nine months ended

                                                          September 30,

(in thousands)                                            2009         2008

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:

Net income                                              $ 268,851    $ 243,125

Loss (income) from discontinued operations, net of tax    1,885        (741)

Income from continuing operations, net of tax             270,736      242,384

Adjustments to reconcile income from continuing
operations, net of tax, to net cash flows from
operating activities:

Depreciation and other intangible assets amortization     58,570       48,655

Programs and program licenses costs                       229,043      211,099

Program payments                                          (211,500)    (212,503)

Amortization of network distribution costs                28,305       24,875

Capitalized network distribution incentives               (5,571)      (3,885)

Losses on repurchases of debt                                          26,380

Equity in earnings of affiliates                          (12,834)     (14,177)

Dividends received from equity investments                17,098       5,655

Stock and deferred compensation plans                     15,557       19,980

Deferred income taxes                                     (4,616)      35,309

Prepaid and accrued pension expense                       7,159        3,948

Changes in certain working capital accounts:

Accounts receivable                                       36,970       22,647

Other assets                                              (297)        (2,913)

Accounts payable                                          (6,517)      (5,567)

Accrued employee compensation and benefits                (1,334)      380

Accrued income taxes                                      2,371        29,184

Other liabilities                                         (25,106)     (10,103)

Other, net                                                7,075        14,101

Net cash provided by (used in) continuing operating       405,109      435,449
activities

Net cash provided by (used in) discontinued operating     (4,302)      12,176
activities

Net operating activities                                  400,807      447,625

Cash Flows from Investing Activities:

Acquisitions of property, plant and equipment             (57,852)     (42,844)

Increase in short-term investments                        (159,762)    (369)

Purchase of subsidiary companies, noncontrolling                       (9,315)
interest, and long-term investments

Other, net                                                (5,087)      1,278

Net cash provided by (used in) continuing investing       (222,701)    (51,250)
activities

Net cash provided by (used in) discontinued investing     (858)        (2,365)
activities

Net investing activities                                  (223,559)    (53,615)

Cash Flows from Financing Activities:

Increase in long-term debt                                             135,000

Payments on long-term debt                                (80,000)     (506,303)

Bond redemption premium payment                                        (22,517)

Dividends paid to SNI common shareholders                 (37,006)     (12,234)

Dividends paid to noncontrolling interest                 (79,482)     (74,033)

Change in parent company investment, net                               96,457

Proceeds from stock option exercises                      22,819       5,194

Other, net                                                (2,490)      (1,056)

Net financing activities from continuing operations       (176,159)    (379,492)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash          61           (2,134)
equivalents

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents          1,150        12,384

Cash and cash equivalents:

Beginning of year                                         9,970        12,532

End of period                                           $ 11,120     $ 24,916

Supplemental Cash Flow Disclosures:

Interest paid, excluding amounts capitalized            $ 729        $ 12,169

Income taxes paid                                         125,575      75,716



Notes to Results of Operations

1. OTHER CHARGES AND CREDITS

As a result of the distribution of Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. to the shareholders of The E. W. Scripps Company, SNI employees holding share-based equity awards, including share options and restricted shares, have received modified awards in our Company's stock. Under share-based payment accounting principles, the adjustment to the outstanding share based equity awards is considered a modification and incremental share-based compensation expense is recognized to the extent that the fair value of the awards immediately prior to the modification is less than the fair value of the awards immediately after the modification. Our third quarter 2008 results include a non-cash charge of $4.9 million related to the modification of these stock-based awards. Net income was reduced by $3.2 million.

In connection with the separation of the Company from E. W. Scripps, our deferred tax balances were re-measured to reflect the enacted state tax rates applicable to our tax jurisdictions as a stand-alone company. The re-measurement of our deferred tax liability balances resulted in a one-time charge to our tax provision in the third quarter of 2008 that reduced net income by $4.5 million and increased our quarterly effective tax rate by 3.7 percent.

In the second quarter of 2008, E. W. Scripps redeemed their outstanding notes which were previously allocated to us in our combined financial statements. The associated loss on extinguishment from such redemption, which was not expected to be deductible for income tax purposes, was allocated to us in our statement of operations resulting in a reduction to year-to-date net income of $26.4 million, $.16 per share.

2. SEGMENT INFORMATION

We determine our business segments based upon our management and internal reporting structure. Our reportable segments are strategic businesses that offer different products and services.

Lifestyle Media includes our national television networks, HGTV, Food Network, DIY, FLN, and SN Digital which includes Web sites that are associated with the aforementioned television brands and other Internet-based businesses serving food or shelter related categories such as RecipeZaar.com, HGTVPro.com, and FrontDoor.com. Our networks also operate domestically and internationally through licensing agreements with other entities. We own approximately 69% of Food Network and approximately 94% of Fine Living Network ("FLN"). Each of our networks is distributed by cable, telecommunications, and satellite distributors.

Interactive Services includes our online comparison shopping service, Shopzilla, and its related online comparison shopping brand, BizRate. Shopzilla and BizRate are product comparison shopping services that help consumers find products offered for sale on the Web by online retailers. Shopzilla and BizRate also operate a Web-based consumer feedback network which collects millions of consumer reviews of stores and products each year.

Our chief operating decision maker evaluates the operating performance of our business segments using a measure we call segment profit. Segment profit excludes interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, divested operating units, restructuring activities, investment results and certain other items that are included in net income determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Refer to Note 4--Non-GAAP Financial Measures, for reconciliations to GAAP measures.

Items excluded from segment profit generally result from decisions made in prior periods or from decisions made by corporate executives rather than the managers of the business segments. Depreciation and amortization charges are the result of decisions made in prior periods regarding the allocation of resources and are therefore excluded from the measure. Financing, tax structure and divestiture decisions are generally made by corporate executives. Excluding these items from our business segment performance measure enables us to evaluate business segment operating performance for the current period based upon current economic conditions and decisions made by the managers of those business segments in the current period.

Information regarding the operating performance of our business segments determined and reconciliation to our results of operations is as follows:


(in thousands)            Three months ended               Nine months ended

                          September 30,                    September 30,

                          2009        2008      Change     2009         2008       Change

Segment operating
revenues:

Lifestyle Media         $ 325,511   $ 312,000   4.3 %    $ 986,727    $ 972,059    1.5 %

Interactive Services      38,983      52,101    (25.2)%    124,885      173,213    (27.9)%

Corporate/Intersegment    (33)        86                   (103)        86
eliminations

Total operating         $ 364,461   $ 364,187   0.1 %    $ 1,111,509  $ 1,145,358  (3.0)%
revenues

Segment profit (loss):

Lifestyle Media         $ 150,461   $ 138,975   8.3 %    $ 468,902    $ 457,109    2.6 %

Interactive Services      6,376       11,468    (44.4)%    20,675       42,264     (51.1)%

Corporate                 (12,573)    (16,724)  (24.8)%    (39,947)     (36,239)   10.2 %

Total segment profit      144,264     133,719   7.9 %      449,630      463,134    (2.9)%

Depreciation and
amortization of           (20,666)    (16,683)  23.9 %     (58,570)     (48,655)   20.4 %
intangible assets

Gains (losses) on         (898)                            (967)        (835)      15.8 %
disposal of PP&E

Interest expense          (285)       (2,199)   (87.0)%    (1,021)      (13,309)   (92.3)%

Equity in earnings of     4,873       5,418     (10.1)%    12,834       14,177     (9.5)%
affiliates

Losses on repurchases                                                   (26,380)
of debt

Miscellaneous, net        (1,321)     1,113                (721)        11

Income from continuing
operations before       $ 125,967   $ 121,368   3.8 %    $ 401,185    $ 388,143    3.4 %
income taxes



Corporate costs for the first six months of 2008 reflect an estimate of SNI's portion of The E. W. Scripps Company's corporate expenses. Included in Corporate expenses are one-time costs related to the separation that totaled $7.2 million in the third quarter of 2008, $0.8 million in the third quarter of 2009, and $6.5 million for the year-to-date period of 2009.

3. SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Our Lifestyle Media division earns revenue primarily from the sale of advertising time in our national television networks' programming, affiliate fees paid by cable and satellite television operators that carry our network programming, the licensing of its content to third parties, the licensing of its brands for consumer products such as books and kitchenware, and from the sale of advertising on our Lifestyle Media affiliated Web sites (SN Digital).

Supplemental information for Lifestyle Media is as follows:


(in thousands)        Three months ended             Nine months ended

                      September 30,                  September 30,

                      2009       2008     Change     2009       2008     Change

Operating revenues
by brand:

HGTV                $ 152,547  $ 143,391  6.4 %    $ 459,925  $ 447,738  2.7 %

Food Network          118,591    112,874  5.1 %      363,218    358,359  1.4 %

DIY                   17,684     16,006   10.5 %     51,133     47,338   8.0 %

FLN                   11,185     12,873   (13.1)%    33,888     39,637   (14.5)%

GAC                   6,449      5,890    9.5 %      19,274     18,088   6.6 %

SN Digital            17,529     19,137   (8.4)%     54,012     56,846   (5.0)%

Other/intersegment    1,526      1,829    (16.6)%    5,277      4,053    30.2 %
eliminations

Operating revenues
by type:

Advertising         $ 236,598  $ 235,523  0.5 %    $ 722,177  $ 742,270  (2.7)%

Affiliate fees,       81,055     69,877   16.0 %     240,174    206,991  16.0 %
net

Other                 7,858      6,600    19.1 %     24,376     22,798   6.9 %

Subscribers (1):

HGTV                                                 98,800     97,400   1.4 %

Food Network                                         99,300     97,500   1.8 %

DIY                                                  52,100     48,300   7.9 %

FLN                                                  55,700     51,800   7.5 %

GAC                                                  57,200     54,000   5.9 %




    Subscriber counts are according to the Nielsen Homevideo Index of homes that
(1) receive cable networks, with the exception of FLN in 2008, which was not yet
    rated by Nielsen and represented comparable amounts calculated by us.



4. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

In addition to the results prepared in accordance with GAAP provided in this release, the Company has presented segment profit and free cash flow. A reconciliation of segment profit to operating income determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for each business segment is as follows:


(in thousands)                         Three months ended    Nine months ended

                                       September 30,         September 30,

                                       2009       2008       2009       2008

Operating income                     $ 122,700  $ 117,036  $ 390,093  $ 413,644

Depreciation and amortization of
intangible assets:

Lifestyle Media                        9,821      6,996      27,432     20,640

Interactive Services                   10,489     9,625      30,430     27,846

Corporate                              356        62         708        169

Losses (gains) on disposal of PP&E:

Lifestyle Media                        516                   571        764

Interactive Services                   382                   396

Corporate                                                               71

Total segment profit                 $ 144,264  $ 133,719  $ 449,630  $ 463,134



The Company defines free cash flow as cash provided by operating activities less dividends paid to noncontrolling interests and acquisitions of property, plant and equipment. The Company measures free cash flow as it believes it is an important indicator for management and investors as to the Company's liquidity, including its ability to reduce debt, make strategic investments and return capital to shareholders. A reconciliation of free cash flow is as follows:


(in thousands)                     Three months ended      Nine months ended

                                   September 30,           September 30,

                                   2009        2008        2009         2008

Segment profit                   $ 144,264   $ 133,719   $ 449,630    $ 463,134

Income taxes paid                  (39,894)    (4,220)     (125,575)    (75,716)

Interest paid                      (186)       (1,963)     (729)        (12,169)

Working capital and other          53,014      88,781      81,783       60,200

Cash provided by continuing        157,198     216,317     405,109      435,449
operating activities

Dividends paid to noncontrolling   (9,671)     (17,850)    (79,482)     (74,033)
interest

Acquisitions of property, plant    (17,441)    (19,281)    (57,852)     (42,844)
and equipment

Free cash flow                   $ 130,086   $ 179,186   $ 267,775    $ 318,572



Since segment profit and free cash flow are non-GAAP measures, they should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, operating income, net income, cash flow provided by operating activities and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP.


    Source: Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.


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