Digital Up, Broadcast Down As Townsquare Media Second Quarter Revenues, Income Dip

Q2 Dip

TOWNSQUARE MEDIA second quarter 2023 net revenue fell 0.6% year-over-year to $121.2 million, with net income dropping from a gain of $5 million to a loss of $2.7 million (-19 cents/basic and diluted share). The revenue drop came from a 5.8% decrease in broadcast advertising to $53.7 million and a 7.5% dip in subscription digital marketing solutions to $21.3 million, offset by a 10.6% increase for digital advertising to $41.1 million.

CEO BILL WILSON said, “I am pleased to share that TOWNSQUARE’s digital growth engine continued to drive results in the second quarter, demonstrating its strength and resiliency, as we delivered second quarter net revenue and Adjusted EBITDA that met our previously issued guidance. In the second quarter, net revenue decreased -1% year-over-year to $121 million (and was flat year-over-year excluding political revenue), and Adjusted EBITDA decreased -12% year-over-year to $29 million."

He continued, "In total, year-to-date Digital net revenue increased +6% year-over-year (representing 52% of our total 1H 2023 net revenue) and total Digital Adjusted Operating Income increased +11% year-over-year (representing 60% of our total 1H 2023 Adjusted Operating Income). With its differentiated and sophisticated products and solutions, our Digital Advertising segment was once again our largest driver of growth, increasing second quarter net revenue by +11% year-over-year. Second quarter Digital Advertising Adjusted Operating Income growth outpaced revenue growth at +30% year-over-year, with profit margins expanding to 35%. Our year-to-date performance highlights the strength of our Digital Advertising platform and solutions, and validates our Digital First Local Media strategy, with a focus exclusively on local markets outside of the Top 50.

“The strong cash generation characteristics of our assets allowed us to produce $31 million of cash flow from operations in the first six months of 2023, an increase of $8 million as compared to the prior year. We could not be more pleased to share that given our strong cash position, we were able to repurchase nearly 9% of our total shares outstanding, repurchase and retire approximately $13 million of our Unsecured Senior Notes at a discount, and pay a high- yielding dividend to our shareholders during the first six months of the year. We also ended the quarter with a strong cash balance of $50 million and net leverage of 4.36x, retaining financial flexibility moving forward."

TOWNSQUATE's Board of Directors has also approved a quarterly cash dividend of 18.75 cents per share, payable NOVEMBER 1st to shareholders of record as of OCTOBER 2nd.

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