Liberty Media (LMCA) Q1 Earnings Top, Revenues In Line

Liberty Media Corp. (NASDAQ:LMCA) reported mixed financial results in the first quarter of 2016. While the company’s bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, the top line merely met the mark.

Quarterly net income came in at $365 million or $1.08 per share a turnaround from a net loss of $19 million or 6 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. First quarter earnings per share were well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents.

Quarterly total revenue came in at $1,204 million, up from $1,081 million in the prior-year quarter. However, the figure was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Quarterly Subscriber revenues were $1,009 million, up 11.2% year-over-year while Other revenues totaled $195 million, up 12.1%.

In the reported quarter, Liberty Media’s adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization came in at $391 million compared with $373 million in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly operating income was $781 million compared with $245 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $441.4 million, up 10.6% from the year-ago quarter.

In the first quarter of 2016, Liberty Media generated $362.2 million of cash from operations compared with a little over $310 million in the prior-year quarter. Free cash flow in the reported quarter was $328.2 million, up from $276.2 million in the year-ago quarter.

At the end of the first quarter of 2016, Liberty Media had $602 million of cash and cash equivalents compared with $201 million at the end of 2015. Total debt, at first quarter-end, was $7,118 million compared with $6,881 million at 2015 end. The debt-to-capitalization ratio was 0.38 at the end of the first quarter, compared with 0.27 at the end of 2015.

Liberty Media currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). The company partially controls media company Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) and concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:LYV) . Moreover, Liberty Media holds a majority stake in satellite radio broadcaster SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) .