Entercom: Soft Local Ad Market Dampens 1Q Financials

Entercom Communications today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018.

First Quarter Highlights

• Net revenues for the quarter were $300.6 million, compared to $99.0 million in the first quarter of 2017. On a same-station basis, net revenues for the quarter were $300.6 million compared to $324.9 million in the first quarter of 2017
• Operating income for the quarter was $5.7 million, compared to an operating loss of $15.0 million in the first quarter of 2017
• Net loss per diluted share for the quarter was ($0.10), compared to net loss per diluted share of ($0.25) in the first quarter of 2017
• Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $30.1 million, compared to $61.0 million in the first quarter of 2017

David Field

David J. Field, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Since closing on our merger in November, we have moved quickly to implement rapid change and have made good progress on our various integration, synergy and transformation goals.  We have built a terrific leadership team and are driving strong ratings growth and launching a number of revenue-driving initiatives to capitalize on our scale and compete far more effectively against other media for a larger share of ad spending.

"Earlier today, we announced the launch of the Entercom Audio Network which will enable us to use our scale to participate directly in the $1 billion network radio market. Our first quarter financial results were adversely affected by soft general local advertising conditions and a number of temporary factors, most notably the exclusion of $12 million in revenue due to financial issues at USTN. As these temporary factors abate and our growth initiatives take hold, we look forward to driving meaningful sustainable growth as we capitalize on the compelling brands, assets and capabilities of this exciting, emerging company.”