CC Media Holdings Losses Rise to $191M 4Q

Radio and outdoor advertising giant CC Media Holdings Inc. reported Tuesday that it lost $191 million in the last quarter of 2012 even as sales increased.

Nolan Hicks at mysanantonio.com reports  the company's net loss was significantly worse than its results in the same period the year before, when it lost $43 million.

At the same time, CC Media Holdings' revenue increased 3 percent to $1.7 billion in the quarter, up from $1.65 million the year before.

“We are very pleased with our Company's progress in strengthening our businesses over the past year, and we look forward to continuing our momentum into 2013,” CC Media Holdings CEO Bob Pittman said in a statement.

For all of 2012, the company posted a loss of $424 million, compared to a $302 million loss in 2011.

The company has been struggling under a heavy debt load since two capital investment firms, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, loaded the company up with more than $20 billion in debt as part the deal to take the company private. The leveraged buyout closed in 2008, shortly before the financial collapse that sent the U.S. economy spiraling.

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“Despite the slow economic recovery, we delivered a solid financial performance for the 2012 fourth quarter and full year,” Tom Casey, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, said. “At Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, we continued to outpace the competition in national advertising, digital, and total revenues. At Outdoor, the Americas’ progress in digital, airports and national advertising was encouraging, while International saw strength in emerging markets. Across the entire company, we remain aggressively focused on realigning our resources toward higher growth areas.