CBS CBS Corp

CBS Corp. on Thursday reported stronger-than-expected revenue growth, though profit fell by 37% as the company took a big charge to write down the value of some of its radio licenses.

Shares fell 1.3% to $43 in after-hours trading.

Looking ahead, the entertainment giant said Super Bowl 50 and political advertising should drive strength throughout the year.

Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said CBS also is seeing strong growth in its premium content and improvement in advertising. With political spending expected to ramp up ahead of the election, 2016 should be "a very good year for advertising," Mr. Moonves said.

Mr. Moonves took on the chairman role last week from Sumner Redstone, who stepped down from both CBS and Viacom Inc. in the midst of an ugly legal battle with a former girlfriend over Mr. Redstone's competency. The lawsuit could have implications for his control stakes in the companies.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, revenue rose to $3.91 billion from $3.68 billion, while analysts had expected $3.8 billion in revenue.

CBS reported a profit of $261 million, or 55 cents a share, down from $413 million, or 79 cents a share, a year earlier. Profit was affected by a $484 million impairment on radio FCC licenses and a gain from the sale of an Internet business.

Excluding special items, per-share earnings were 92 cents, matching analysts' expectations. CBS said the earnings were a record.

In the latest quarter, CBS's affiliate and subscription fee revenue rose 13%, while content licensing and distribution revenues rose 16%.

Advertising revenue ticked up 1% on growth in network advertising.

Cable revenue, which includes Showtime, CBS Sports Network and Smithsonian Networks, rose 13% to $562 million.

Local television division revenue fell 8.4% to $719 million.

Entertainment revenue—which includes the broadcast network, CBS Television studios and CBS films—rose 8.8% to $2.46 billion.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 11, 2016 17:15 ET (22:15 GMT)

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