Clear Channel Outdoor 1Q profit grows more than fivefold

For the period ended March 31, earnings soared to $88.9 million, or 25 cents per share, compared with $16.1 million, or 5 cents per share, in the prior year.

Quarterly results included a $75.6 million, or 21 cents per share, gain related to the sale of its 50 percent stake in South African outdoor ad company Clear Channel Independent.

Excluding the gain from the sale, profit was $13.3 million, or 4 cents per share.

Analysts predicted net income of 5 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial poll. Estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Revenue gained 12 percent to $775.6 million, surpassing Wall Street's estimate of $738 million.