Net revenues were up 8% in Q1 to $25.4 million for LBI Media (Liberman Broadcasting). TV was up, fueled by the new EstrellaTV network, while radio had a down quarter. The gain was 10.3% excluding US Census revenues from a year ago, noted CEO Lenard Liberman in his quarterly conference with Wall Street bond analysts.
TV revenue increased 21% to $14.2 million. Excluding the Census, the gain was
Radio revenues, however, fell 5% to $11.3 million. That was attributed to a decline in the company’s Texas markets, where bad weather interfered with some events, while COO Winter Horton said LBI’s California radio markets were up.
Adjusted EBITDA for the entire company decreased 39% to $4.3 million. That $2.8 million decline included the non-recurrence of a $1.6 million gain last year related to a radio station transactions, additional costs of $700K for Nielsen ratings of EstrellaTV and a $700K charge for settling a legal dispute.
Asked about auto ad sales, Horton said there had been some cancellations because some Japanese nameplates couldn’t get inventory. “I certainly don’t think it’s anything long term,” he said.
