• by Wayne Friedman , June 23, 2010

Broadcast stations are seeing rising profit margins -- now up to 35% in the first quarter of 2009 -- across a range of publicly traded TV groups.

This is an 11-point gain in profit margin -- with its ratio of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to revenue. These results are from New York-based media investment banker M.C. Alcamo & Co. The reasons are: higher revenue, up some 15.3%, and lower costs.

Looking at specific companies, Sinclair Broadcast Group had the best profit-margin results -- 45%, up 6 points from the first quarter of 2009. Alcamo said this resulted despite a lower-than-industry average 9.6% quarter-over-quarter gain.

Nexstar Broadcasting was at a 41% profit margin, improving 15 points; Belo Broadcasting was at 34%, up 16 points; LIN Broadcasting, 35% (11 points higher); Gray Broadcasting, 28% (up 9 points); Entravision Broadcasting, 22% (8 points improvement); and Fisher Broadcasting, 14% (a 13-point gain).

Last fall, Alcamo said the broadcasting industry will continue to outpace the rest of the economy as a whole -- growing at a 6.0% revenue clip this year -- against an estimated 2.8% for the U.S. gross domestic product.

Next year, things will ramp up for stations, with a 11% to 15% revenue hike -- against an expected GDP growth rate of between 3.8% and 5.0%.

Alcamo estimates that the broadcast industry is on pace to follow a similar growth spurt that follows a recovery -- about three times the GDP rate.