iHeartMedia Q1 Revenue Down 3.8% to $811 Million

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, May 2, 2023 | 7:51pm CT

iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia reported first quarter revenue declined 3.8% to $811 million from $843.5 million in 2022. Broadcast revenue fell 7.7% to $32 million, driven by lower spot revenue. Operating loss was $49 million versus an operating income of $12 million. Adjusted EBITDA was down 35% to $87 million from $133 million. The company posted a net loss of $223.3 million as compared to a net loss of $48.7 million in the year-ago period.

Digital Audio Group revenue grew 4% to $223 million, Podcast revenue increased 12% to 77 million up. Digital revenue excluding Podcast rose 1% to $147 million.

"We are pleased to report that our first quarter 2023 results were a bit above the high end of our Adjusted EBITDA and Revenue guidance ranges - and that more importantly, while both the macroeconomic climate and the advertising marketplace remain uncertain, the audio and digital advertising markets appeared to be stronger in the quarter than we had initially anticipated," said Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman. "We expect that our second quarter Adjusted EBITDA, while below 2022 levels, will be approximately double what we generated in the first quarter, and this, in combination with our Q1 first quarter performance relative to guidance, gives us confidence that our Adjusted EBITDA results will continue to improve throughout 2023, and that we will be well positioned to build further in 2024 in terms of revenue growth, profitability, and Free Cash Flow generation."

"We were pleased that we slightly exceeded our previously reported guidance for the quarter, with our consolidated revenues down 3.8% year-over-year compared to the guidance range we provided of down in the mid-single digits, and our Q1 Adjusted EBITDA of $93 million above the high end of the guidance range we provided," added President, COO and CFO Rich Bressler. "We remain committed to driving shareholder value, and while we can't predict when the advertising marketplace will fully recover, we believe that our Multiplatform revenues will continue to recover and that our Digital Audio Group revenues will continue to grow throughout 2023. With the benefit of what are expected to be record levels of political spend in 2024, and the annualized impact of the cost reductions we have made over the past six months, in 2024 we expect to resume our growth trajectory that was interrupted by this period of recent advertising softness."