Beasley Q2 Net Revenue Down 3.6%, Earnings Up 28%

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, July 25, 2014

Beasley Broadcast Group reported second quarter revenue fell 3.6% to $25.9 million from $26.9 million in 2013. Operating income was down 12.1% to $6.5 million from $7.4 million, while station operating income (SOI) declined 5.9% to $9.5 million from $10.1 million. The company posted net earnings of $3 million (13 cents per diluted share) as compared to earnings of $2.4 million (10 cents) in the year-ago period.

The 3.6%, year-over-year decline in net revenue primarily reflected lower ad revenue at the company's Philadelphia, Wilmington and Greenville-New Bern clusters. The decline in net revenue was partially offset by $0.7 million in other revenue, resulting from an agreement with an electronics company and its affiliate concerning the use of BBG's and their respective logos. Lower net revenue in the 2014 second quarter was partially offset by a $0.4 million, or 2.3%, reduction in station operating expenses, resulting in a $0.6 million, or 5.9%, decline in Q2 SOI.

Chairman/CEO George G. Beasley said, "Second quarter revenue levels reflect slower advertising spending across most markets where we operate which led to declines in seven of our eleven markets and lower station operating income. Overall, we outperformed in our five market clusters that report to Miller Kaplan. In these markets, which accounted for approximately 78% of total second quarter revenue, Beasley station cluster revenue declined 5.2%, compared with the total revenue for all reporting radio stations in these markets which were down 6.0% for the quarter."

He continued, "Our year-over-year revenue decline is partially attributable to difficult comparisons with 2013 second quarter results when we generated double digit revenue gains in markets including Philadelphia and Las Vegas. However, our initiatives to expand our digital offerings are delivering results as we recorded an approximate 24% rise in digital revenue during the quarter."