DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.'s (SNI) second-quarter earnings slumped 27% as the company saw strong top-line growth hindered by an impact related to the divestiture of its shopping-related website business Shopzilla Inc. The owner of HGTV and Food Network had lately seen results helped by strong advertising revenue. Scripps said Tuesday that advertising revenue in the period jumped 13% to $374 million. During the quarter, it completed the sale of Shopzilla, a move that trimmed its interactive services segment's holdings. Scripps posted a profit of $77.4 million, or 46 cents a share, down from $106.2 million, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier. The current period included a 31-cent per-share impact related to the Shopzilla divestiture, while the year-earlier period included a 6-cent per-share income tax benefit. Earnings from continuing operations, meanwhile, rose to 78 cents a share from 60 cents as revenue improved 12% to $534 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share earnings of 72 cents on $532.4 million in revenue. Revenue at the lifestyle media segment, which includes the cable channels and accounts for the bulk of the company's top line, jumped 11% as the Food Network brand saw revenue rise 8.2% and HGTV revenue improved 8.9%. Class A shares closed Monday at $37.62 and were inactive in recent premarket trading. Through the latest close, the stock is down 27% since the start of the year. -By Mia Lamar, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3207; mia.lamar@dowjones.com
