Beasley Reports 4Q Net Revenue Jumps 9 Percent YOY

Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. today announced operating results for the three month and twelve month periods ended December 31, 2017.

The actual results presented herein reflect the Company’s legacy Beasley Broadcast Group broadcasting and digital operations and the results from the acquired Greater Media stations. On January 6, 2017, the Company completed the sale of WFNZ-AM and three Greater Media stations in Charlotte. On May 1, 2017, the Company completed the sale of six stations in Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville. On December 19, 2017, Beasley completed an asset exchange transaction with CBS Radio Stations, Inc. and entities affiliated with Entercom Communications Corp. in Boston, whereby the Company exchanged its adult contemporary station WMJX-FM for Entercom’s sports station WBZ-FM. In addition, the Company also paid $12.0 million in cash. The pro-forma results presented herein reflect the Company’s legacy Beasley Broadcast Group operations and the results from WBZ-FM and the Greater Media stations, while excluding the aforementioned Charlotte and Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville stations and WMJX-FM, as if all transactions had been completed on January 1, 2016.

The $4.8 million, or 9.0%, year-over-year increase in net revenue during the three months ended December 31, 2017, reflects the inclusion of stations acquired from Greater Media in Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit and New Jersey, partially offset by the disposition of the Charlotte and Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville stations and strong non-recurring political advertising revenue recorded in the year ago fourth quarter.

Operating income was $23.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to $49.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. The $26.6 million year-over-year decrease in operating income is primarily attributable to the approximate $11.8 million gain on the asset exchange of WMJX-FM for WBZ-FM recorded in the 2017 fourth quarter versus the approximate $44.3 million gain on the acquisition of the Greater Media stations recorded in the 2016 fourth quarter. Fourth quarter 2017 operating income was also impacted by the aforementioned year-over-year decline in SOI. The Company incurred approximately $0.2 million of pre-tax transaction expenses in the fourth quarter compared to $5.2 million in the prior year.

Caroline Beasley

Beasley recorded a $59.7 million deferred income tax benefit in the 2017 fourth quarter due to a reduction in the federal tax rate from 35% to 21% following the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and a revaluation of deferred tax assets and liabilities using the new rate. As a result, net income for the 2017 fourth quarter increased to $69.7 million, or $2.50 per diluted share, compared to net income of $41.5 million, or $1.57 per diluted share, in the 2016 fourth quarter. Net income included losses of $4.0 million and $0.8 million on modification of long-term debt in the three months ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.

Commenting on the financial results, Caroline Beasley, Chief Executive Officer, said, “Throughout 2017, we continued to actively manage our station portfolio to extract operating and financial synergies from the acquired Greater Media stations, while implementing our proven strategies across our platform, which are focused on delivering strong local programming, diversifying our operations, managing risk and improving financial results.