Madison Square Garden Revenue Blows Past Estimates

Madison Square Gardens shares surged more than 3% in premarket trade Friday, after the company's fiscal first-quarter revenue blew past estimates. The company said it had net income of $108 million, or $1.38 a share, in its first fiscal quarter to end September, up from $215.6 million, or 31 cents a share, in the same period a year ago, buoyed by a gain on the sale of its Fuse network. Revenue rose to $241.7 million from $215.6 million, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $223 million. Chief Executive Tad Smith reiterated that the company is considering splitting itself into two; a premier live event and venue management company and a sports and media company. "We are optimistic that this transaction will improve upon the shareholder return created since MSG's spin-off over four years ago," Smith said in a statement. Shares are up about 29% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained about 8%.