Clear Channel Posts $4.7B Loss

Clear Channel Communications Inc. on Friday reported a loss of $4.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004, all of it due to an accounting change to comply with federal regulations.

Excluding the charge, Clear Channel’s earnings were $214.3 million, or 37 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2004, up 14.5 percent from the $187.2 million, or 30 cents per share, earned in the same quarter in 2003.

The per-share earnings matched the consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.

The San Antonio-based radio and advertising giant reported fourth-quarter revenue of $2.31 billion, up 1 percent from $2.29 billion a year earlier.

Radio revenue was $965 million in the quarter, essentially the same as the fourth quarter of 2003, and its live entertainment division dropped 12 percent to $525 million. Billboards and other outdoor advertising rose 12 percent in the quarter to $686 million.

For the full year, Clear Channel had a loss of $4 billion on sales of $9.4 billion, with the loss coming from the accounting change to satisfy a Securities and Exchange Commission rules interpretation in September on how intangible assets are reported.

Without special items, the company had a full-year profit of $845.8 million, or $1.41 per share, up from the $726 million, or $1.17 per share, earned in 2003.

Radio was up 2 percent to $2.16 billion for the year, the company said, led by growth in small and midsize markets that are more reliant on local advertising. In larger markets, it said it was hurt by lower ad spending by retailers, car dealers and telecom companies.

Revenue from concerts and other live events rose 4 percent for the year to $2.75 billion, and outdoor advertising grew 13 percent to $2.45 billion.

Associated Press