Check Out The Big Swing From Beasley In Q3

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Nov. 1 marked the start of a new era for Naples, Fla.-based Beasley Media Group, as it completed its acquisition of Greater Media and its divestment of two AMs and two FMs in Charlotte to Entercom.


To help with the good vibes around the company are stellar Q3 numbers, which Beasley reported before the opening bell on Wall Street Wednesday (11/2).

For the three months ended Sept. 30, Beasley swung from a net loss of $737,900 (-3 cents per share) to net income of $1.69 million (+7 cents per share).

Expenses were trimmed from $26.3 million to $23.9 million, while $1.2 million in merger expenses were incurred during the just-completed quarter.

Overall, net revenue grew from $26.3 million to $27.7 million, year-over-year.

Station Operating Income (SOI) also looked great for Beasley in Q3, rising from $6.6 million to $8.2 million.

The results reflect only the 52 radio stations owned and operated by Beasley prior to its just-completed merger acquisition of Greater Media.

Caroline Beasley, Chief Financial Officer and interim CEO until Jan. 1, 2017, when she assumes the role permanently, said, “Beasley’s strong third-quarter revenue, SOI, and net income growth reflect solid industry fundamentals, strength across our platform of existing stations, high levels of operating discipline and the benefits of our initiatives to de-lever and strengthen our balance sheet.  In the third quarter we again outperformed our markets that report to Miller Kaplan on a combined revenue basis, a trend we expect to continue.  Specifically, our clusters generated an approximate 7.8% increase in net revenue compared with an increase of 2.6% in the overall markets.”

She added that Beasley’s “out-performance was broad-based” and included clusters in Tampa-St. Petersburg; Augusta, Ga.; Charlotte, N.C.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Las Vegas, Nev.; and Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville, N.C.

“Our focus on actively and conservatively managing our capital structure to provide the financial flexibility to support our near- and long-term growth initiatives was evident as lower borrowing costs due to lower leverage resulted in a 19.6% year-over-year reduction in 2016 third quarter interest expense,” Caroline Beasley noted. “Despite the impact of $1.2 million of expenses related to our just completed accretive acquisition of Greater Media, we reported solid bottom line results and diluted earnings per share of $1.7 million and $0.07, respectively.  In addition, reflecting our strong cash flows and commitment to return capital to shareholders, we declared our twelfth consecutive quarterly cash dividend during the quarter.”