Sinclair's Q4 Revenue Misses Consensus Due To Cyber Incident, Absence Of Political Revenue; Hikes Dividend

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc SBGI reported a fourth-quarter FY21 revenue decline of 2% year-on-year to $1.48 billion, missing the consensus of $1.56 billion.
Lost revenues due to the cyber incident and the absence of political revenues in a non-political year affected the revenue growth.
Total advertising revenues of $383 million decreased 31% Y/Y. Distribution revenues of $1.048 billion increased from $917 million in the same period a year ago.
Operating income declined to $165 million from $625 million in the prior-year period.
EPS loss was $(1.18) compared to $6.27 in the prior-year period.
Sinclair held $816 million in cash and equivalents.
Management: Sinclair named Rob Weisbord as COO of the corporation and President of Broadcast.
Dividend: The board raised the quarterly cash dividend by 25% to $0.25 per share, payable on March 21, 2022, to the holders of record on March 7, 2022.
Chris Ripley, the CEO, said, "We continue to be encouraged by the rebound in the advertising market in 2021 and expect a robust advertising market in 2022, driven by significant political ad placements, continued strong demand from the service and sports betting categories, and a slow recovery in the auto and other supply-constrained sectors."
Ripley continued, "The year ahead is an important one for our Company from a content and programming perspective. Already in 2022, we renewed our local digital rights with the NBA & NHL, paving the way for our new "Direct to Consumer" product, debuted two new original programs on our regional sports networks, and secured live tennis rights for the Women's Tennis Association tour in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands."
Outlook: Sinclair sees Q1 FY22 revenue of $1.519 billion - $1.541 billion against the consensus of $1.52 billion.
Price Action: SBGI shares closed lower by 3.07% at $26.88 on Tuesday.

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