At long last, ACME Communications has released financial results for Q4 and the full year of 2009. The company is no longer subject to SEC reporting requirements and its thinly traded stock is not listed on any exchange, but trades only on the so-called pink sheets.
ACME says Q4 2009 net revenues from continuing operations were down 14% to $6.8 million. Revenues were down 15% for the company’s TV stations, due to continuing soft advertising demand, while revenues were flat for “The Daily Buzz” syndicated morning show. Station operating expenses were cut 12%, which kept the company in positive cash flow. Broadcast cash flow (BCF) for the quarter was $199,000, down from $529,000 a year earlier.
For all of 2009, ACME’s net revenues fell 19% to $26.8 million. Station operating costs fell 11%. For the full year the company reported negative BCF of $464,000 from positive BCF of $2.5 million in 2008.
“This past year was a very difficult one for the industry and for ACME. Market conditions were challenging, especially given the competition’s focused efforts to regain market share of regular business following a record political year in 2008. While we are seeing a pickup in advertiser demand in the first half of 2010, as has historically been the case, the traditional affiliates are leading the way with those gains,” said Jamie Kellner, ACME’s Chairman.
“We believe that our recently announced LIN Media and Fisher Communications deals will provide meaningful improvements in our operating cash flows beginning in the third quarter of 2010 and expect to continue to find creative ways to maximize shareholder value,” said Kellner.
Indeed, ACME is now a very different company than it was at the end of 2009.
First off, the company announced a deal in April to have Fisher Communications manage “The Daily Buzz” and beef up its Internet-related operations.
Early this month ACME cut a deal to have LIN provide services to its stations in Albuquerque-Santa Fe, Dayton OH, and Green Bay-Appleton WI.
As a result of that realignment, ACME last week announced a new structure for its corporate management team.
