Crown Media Reports Higher Revenue, Costs

Crown Media Holdings saw continued improvement in earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter. The Studio City owner of Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries reported net income of $38.9 million (11 cents a share) for the quarter ending Dec. 31, compared with $51.6 million (14 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased 18 percent to $158.8 million. No analysts follow the company. Advertising revenue increased by 21 percent to $134.1 million for the quarter due to subscriber and audience growth at both channels. While revenue rose, so did programming costs at 66 percent particularly for daytime programming. Crown Media is controlled by Hallmark Cards Inc. of Kansas City, Mo., and a Hallmark subsidiary. Minority investors hold less than 10 percent of the shares. “2015 marked another year of significant achievements with the expansion of our subscriber base, strong growth in audience for both channels and double-digit quarterly advertising sales increases,” Chief Executive Bill Abbott said in a prepared statement. Crown reported its earnings on Thursday. Shares on Friday closed down 5 cents, or just more than 1 percent, to $4.46 on the Nasdaq.