Beasley writes Q1 revenue story in black ink

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Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc.Radio group Beasley Broadcast Group registered nice gains in revenue and operating income, enough to offset an increase in expenses, and started 2013 off on the right foot.


Net revenue rose 6.5% to $24.8M; net income was up 0.5% to $2.4M; and station operating income increased 4.1% to $8.1M.

Expenses were up, which ate into the net income category, and were attributed to expenses incurred operating 2012 acquistion KOAS-FM Las Vegas and to increased sales expenses.

The group’s clusters in Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Fort Myers were singled out for special mention when discussing the group’s Q1 success.

Chairman/CEO George Beasley commented, “The solid first quarter revenue growth led to another period of SOI growth, as consolidated SOI increased 4.1% year-over-year. First quarter SOI margins also remain healthy at 32.7% but declined slightly from last year as station operating expenses rose due to our investments in our local sales teams. Beyond our company-wide focus on programming and ratings which serve as the foundation for the success of our on-air and digital advertising platforms, we continue to strengthen our balance sheet. During the first quarter, we made repayments totaling $1.0 million against the credit facility, reducing total bank debt to $115.7 million at March 31, 2013, from $123.4 million at the end of last year’s first quarter.”

Commenting on the immediate future, Beasley concluded, “Our debt and leverage reduction initiatives over the last few years have reduced our leverage ratio to its lowest level in over ten years and we intend to continue deploying cash from operations to further reduce debt and pursue other initiatives that can enhance shareholder value, including the return of capital through possible dividend declarations or share repurchases. Looking forward, we remain focused on managing our station clusters to match or exceed their market’s revenue performance while delivering continued ratings strength through our strong core programming and targeted localism.”