Univision Communications Inc., the Los Angeles media company set to buy a Dallas radio chain, said Wednesday that its net profit fell 22 percent for the second quarter.

Univision said the decline of net income to $22.2 million (10 cents a share) from $28.6 million (14 cents) in the year-ago quarter was due to start-up losses in a soft economy. Sales, however, were up 36 percent to $322.8 million from $237.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

In June, Univision announced it would acquire Dallas-based Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., the nation's largest Latino-focused radio chain, in an all-stock transaction. If regulators approve, the merger is expected to close by the year's end, creating the nation's largest Spanish-language media company.

Univision also owns a 31-percent stake in Entravision Communications Corp., a company based in Santa Monica, Calif., which owns six radio stations in the Dallas area.

Tuesday, Univision also changed its guidance to Wall Street, saying that for the third quarter it expects to earn 5 cents to 8 cents a share, below Wall Street expectations. A Thompson First Call survey of 13 analysts produced a mean earnings estimate of 13 cents a share for Univision's third quarter.