Having announced plans to buy back some of its own stock, Radio One issued preliminary results for Q1. And the numbers are pretty impressive.
The company said that net revenues will be up 10.9% from a year ago to $65.4 million. That’s particularly notable since Radio One had advised only a month and a half ago that Q1 was pacing flat to up in the single digits.
Station operating income for Q1 is expected to be approximately $17.2-18.2 million. That compares to $17.8 million for Q1 of 2010. Look for a net loss of 37-39 cents per share, compared to nine cents a year ago.
As for the stock buyback, Radio One said its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase of up to $15 million worth of the company’s Class A or Class D common shares prior to April 13, 2013. The stock buys may be in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, with the exact timing and extent of any buybacks to be contingent on market conditions.
Based on the stock price of $2.25 for the more widely traded Class D stock on Friday (4/15), Radio One said the buyback could amount to approximately 12.1% of the company’s shares.
RBR-TVBR observation: It looks like business got better fast. Even when Radio One issued an upbeat advisory on Q2 a few weeks back there was no indication given that Q1 had made such a dramatic turn to the upside.
