Beasley Q4 Net Revenue Declines 8.75% to $65.7 Million

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, February 12, 2024

Beasley Broadcast Group

Beasley Broadcast Group reported fourth quarter 2023 net revenue declined 8.75% to $65.7 million from $72 million in 2022. Operating income increased to $7.6 million from a loss of $31.7 million. Adjusted EBITDA fell 10% to $4.7 million from $9.9 million. The company posted a net income of $6.4 million (21 cents per diluted share) as compared to a loss of $24.5 million (83 cents) in the year-ago period.

Operating income (loss), net income (loss) and net income (loss) per diluted share include $1 million and $99.8 million, respectively, of non-cash impairment losses and a $6 million gain from the Overwatch e-sports league franchise fee extinguishment. Operating loss, net loss and net loss per diluted share in the three months include $42.4 million, respectively, of non-cash impairment losses and a $3.4 million gain on exchange.

CEO Caroline Beasley commented, "Beasley's fourth quarter and full year financial results reflect the impacts of cyclical political revenue and ongoing advertising market softness, partially offset by the continued success of our revenue diversification strategy and cost management initiatives. Net revenues for the 2023 fourth quarter and full year decreased by $6.3 million and $9.3 million, respectively.

"Excluding the impacts from a decrease in political advertising and the Company's dispositions of WWWE-AM, WJBR-FM and the Houston Outlaws in 2023 and WWNN-AM and KDWN-AM in 2022, partially offset by the Company's acquisitions of KXTE-FM and Guarantee Digital in 2022, revenues would have decreased by $0.2 million and $1.3 million in the 2023 fourth quarter and full year, respectively.

"For the better part of the year, we continued to execute on our successful growth agenda for our digital business that capitalizes on the value of our strong local brands, unique local business relationships and proven marketing capabilities. While macroeconomic pressures held fourth quarter digital revenue flat compared to the prior year, Beasley delivered meaningful full-year digital revenue growth, up 11.4% year-over-year.

Our digital business represented 18.4% of full year 2023 revenue. We remain laser focused on prioritizing the growth of our digital platform as a means to diversify our revenue in a cash flow positive manner, and we expect digital revenue to account for between 20% and 25% of total revenue in 2024."