Cumulus Revenues Up In Q2
July 29, 2010: Cumulus Media reports its second-quarter earnings, with net revenues up 5.7 percent, to $69.8 million from $66 million. Within that, broadcast revenue rose 5.8 percent, to $68.8 million from $65 million.
Station operating income was up 9.7 percent, to $29.3 million from $26.7 million. Station operating expenses moved up 3 percent, to $40.4 million from $39.2 million, largely due to "normalized employee costs" following a required companywide one-week furlough in a prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was up 6.1 percent, to $24.8 million from $23.4 million. Free cash flow in the quarter was $17 million, compared to $17.6 million in Q2 2009.
Cumulus' net income was down in Q2, to $12.3 million (29 cents per share) from $14.1 million (34 cents per share).
The revenue gain was primarily due to national accounts, political, and Internet-related revenue. The company said, "We believe that incremental growth in advertising revenue for the second half of the year will be driven primarily by cyclical political spending."
Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey confirmed that on the company's brief earnings call, saying that he expects political spending to pick up significantly after Labor Day. He said, "We continue to expect steady sequential revenue improvement throughout 2010."
Dickey also said that, with the Q2 performance, "We feel very confident that we will be in full compliance when our loan covenants reset at the end of March in 2011." With strong political, he said, that goal could even be reached by the end of the year.
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