Cox Radio Q4 revenues down 2.1%; FY was flat
Facing the same tough Q4 comps as the rest of the industry, net revenues for Cox Radio's Q4 '05 were 108.9 million, down 2.1% from Q4 '04. Local revenues decreased 0.7% and national revenues decreased 10.4%. Whole CXR stations in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa delivered solid growth in Q4, they were offset by results of stations in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Long Island, Richmond, Birmingham, Dayton and Louisville, where revenues were down for the quarter. Operating income in Q4 was 22.7 million, a decrease of 15.1 million, mostly due to a 14.4 million non-cash write-down of impaired goodwill in CXR's Birmingham market. Net income for Q4 was 5.5 million, a decrease of 12.8 million. Capital expenditures for the Q4 '05 totaled 2.6 million. Said CXR CEO Bob Neil in the conference call: "While 2005 proved to be a challenging year for the radio industry, I'm pleased to report that Cox Radio continues to do what we do best-operating locally-oriented radio stations, programming and content that superserve both our loyal listeners and our advertisers...While I'm a bit disappointed that our revenues were down 2% for the quarter, that performance was once again better than the industry, which was down 3% for the quarter. And there were a number of unfavorable comps for the fourth quarter."
Net revenues for FY '05 were 437.9 million, down 0.1% from 2004. Excluding 2004 net revenues of 12 million attributable to the discontinued Atlanta Braves broadcasting agreement, net revenues were up 2.7% for the year. Local increased 0.3% while national decreased 2.5% as compared to 2004. Somewhat similar to Q4 performance, CXR stations in Miami, Tampa, and San Antonio delivered solid growth in 2005 but were offset by results of stations in Atlanta, Richmond, Birmingham, and Louisville where revenues were down for the year. In Atlanta, net revenues were down 6.7% for the year primarily as a result of the discontinuation of the Braves. For the full year, 11 out of 17 of CXR clusters outperformed their respective markets' revenue growth, per Miller-Kaplan, Neil said. Five CXR clusters generated revenue growth greater than 3%, "and that's 3% higher than the industry as a whole-not an easy task in this environment."
Tampa revs were up 12%, vs. a flat market there. SoFla stations were up 9%, vs. the market being down 2% for the year.
Operating income for the year was 136.8 million, a decrease of 6.8 million compared to 2004, also due to the 14.4 million non-cash write-down of impaired goodwill.
Interest expense in 2005 totaled 27.4 million, compared to 30.4 million for 2004. This decrease was the result of lower overall outstanding debt, as well as a lower overall average borrowing rate due to the repayment at maturity of the 100.0 million principal amount of 6.375% notes in May 2005.
Net income for 2005 was 61.3 million, a decrease of 6.7 million from 2004.
On 8/24/05, Cox Radio's Board authorized a share repurchase program of up to 100 million. As of 12/31/05, Cox Radio had purchased 2.7 million shares for an aggregate purchase price of 39.6 million, including commissions and fees, at an average price of 14.80 per share.
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