Beasley Broadcast Group reported net revenue of $27.5 million in the first quarter, a 13.2% change from the same quarter a year ago.
The large- and mid-size market radio owner cited higher earnings at its Tampa-St. Petersburg and Charlotte clusters for the rise combined with its successful integration of the 14 stations the company acquired in a swap with CBS Radio.
When the companies announced the swap in December 2014, Beasley indicated the deal would be accretive to its station operating income in the first 18 months of ownership. But the transaction is accretive after 16 months, exceeding Beasley’s goal. Beasley exchanged five stations in the Philadelphia and Miami-Fort Lauderdale markets for 14 CBS stations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Charlotte and Philadelphia markets.
Indeed, station operating income rose 16% in Q1 compared to Q1 2015, to $7.5 million. Higher net revenue drove the increase, partially offset by a $2.2 million (12.2%) rise in station operating expenses related to higher bonuses, promotions and event/concert expenses.
“Profitability initiatives generated double digit growth in key financial metrics,” said Interim CEO and EVP/CFO Caroline Beasley.
“While 2016 first quarter revenue included the cyclical return of political advertising, we generated organic revenue growth even without the political spending,” said Beasley. “In addition, we achieved our goal of our clusters, on a combined basis, outperforming the markets that report to Miller Kaplan for the full quarter and expect this trend to continue in 2016.”
