UPDATE: Madison Square Garden Tops Q2 Views

reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings. The New York-based company posted a quarterly profit of $61.2 million, or $0.78 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $60.5 million, or $0.77 per share. Its revenue climbed 7% to $542.5 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.74 per share on revenue of $521 million. MSG Sports revenue climbed 10% to $202.5 million in the quarter, while MSG Entertainment revenue surged 19% to $194.1 million. MSG Media revenue fell 8% to $166.2 million in the quarter Adjusted operating cash flow climbed 18% to $149.8 million in the quarter. Operating income gained 43$ to $138.3 million. President and CEO Tad Smith said, "Our Company delivered double-digit AOCF growth in the second quarter as we benefited from the full availability of the Forum and The Garden, as well as broad-based organic growth. Additionally, we are continuing to explore the possible separation of our businesses and believe that the creation of two distinct publicly traded companies would provide both new entities with greater flexibility to pursue their own business plans, while enabling investors to evaluate more clearly each company's unique assets and potential." Madison Square Garden shares fell 0.86% to close at $76.42 yesterday.