Emmis Radio Fiscal Q2 Revenues Down 26.5%

RADIO ONLINE | , , | :am CT

In a filing with the SEC Friday, Emmis Communications reported a 26.5% drop in revenues for its fiscal second quarter to $67.8 million from 92.7 million a year earlier. Station operating income (SOI) fell 50.1% from $27.1 million.

The company posted a net loss of $135.6 million ($3.67 per share), compared to net earnings of $1.2 million (3 cents) in the year-ago period. The loss reflects a $170.98 million impairment charge related to the value of its stations.

Emmis' local ad revenues declined 30.6% to $40.7 million from $58.6 million, while national totals fell 51% to $7.5 million from $15.3 million. In the filing, Emmis said net revenues "decreased principally as a result of a precipitous decline of advertising spending due to the global economic slowdown."

On a up note, the company said, "Local sales have been slightly more resilient than national sales," falling 29% in the first half of its fiscal year, while national was down about 49%.

Emmis also took a shot at Arbitron, saying its New York and Los Angeles stations are "trailing the performance" due to the company's "lack of scale" and that its stations "target demographics that suffer a disproportionate decline in ratings when measured by the PPM."