Cumulus Preliminary Third Quarter Results Show Revenue Flat, Income Down, EBITDA Growth

Prelim Results

CUMULUS MEDIA has released some preliminary financial results for third quarter 2017, showing revenue roughly flat from third quarter 2016, from $286.1 million to a range of $286 million to $288 million. Net income fell from 2016’s $46.3 million to a range of $(0.3) million to $1.7 million, and Adjusted EBITDA rose from $43.9 million to a range of $60 million to $62 million (expected to show growth of 3-6% after adjustment for the impact of $14.4 million of one-time expenses related to the settlement of the company’s dispute with CBS RADIO syndicated programming and inventory expenses. 

Final figures will be released on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9th.

Pres./CEO MARY BERNER said, “The strong preliminary results for the third quarter provide further evidence that our turnaround plan is taking hold. We are encouraged by our continuing operating and financial momentum in the face of negative industry trends. This quarter, we delivered our seventh straight quarter of ratings share growth at the station group along with revenue share gains for our fifth straight quarter at the station group and third straight quarter at WESTWOOD ONE. Most importantly, it was the second straight quarter of year-over-year growth in revenue and Adjusted EBITDA.

“In addition to successfully executing on our foundational operating initiatives, we continue to develop innovative products and service offerings, such as the WESTWOOD ONE ROI Guarantee, the first industry-wide ROI guarantee in the audio space; C-Endorsement Videos, the first video endorsement product at scale in the radio industry; and our initial Voice First initiative, the launch of AMAZON Alexa skills for nearly 300 stations and over 100 WESTWOOD ONE brands.

“While the Company has ample cash to operate our business, CUMULUS continues to be constrained by an excessive debt load. With the assistance of outside advisors, we are proactively exploring a range of alternatives with our lenders and noteholders to restructure the balance sheet and reduce debt. Our objective is to be able to redirect more of our time and resources to where they can have the greatest impact on our future – investing in our employees, in key technologies and in initiatives that drive growth.”

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