Cumulus Forecasts Return To Pre-Pandemic Growth

Cumulus Media Inc. today announced operating results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2020.

Mary G. Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer of CUMULUS MEDIA, said, "Given 2020’s extenuating circumstances, I am extremely proud of the Company’s performance and the efforts of the entire Cumulus team to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19. 

"In the face of the pandemic, we maximized revenue performance, materially reduced expenses, generated cash through strong working capital management, and executed highly accretive divestitures that strengthened our balance sheet. As a result of these efforts and with a recovering economy, we believe that we are well-positioned to return our business to its pre-pandemic trajectory and to capitalize on strategic and financial options to best drive shareholder returns.”

2020 Key Highlights:

• Improved quarterly revenue performance sequentially from Q2 to Q4, both in total and excluding political
• Achieved 9.4% year-over-year digital revenue growth (12.1% on a same station basis), driven by podcasting growth of nearly 40%
• Reduced year-over-year fixed and semi-variable costs by more than $90 million, including nearly $30 million of permanent actions with an annual run-rate benefit of more than $45 million
• Generated $33.2 million of cash from operations for the full year
• Completed two significant M&A transactions generating aggregate gross proceeds of $282 million
• Paid down $54.3 million of term loan and retired $47.2 million of senior notes
• Finished the year with $271.8 million of cash on hand (an increase of $256.6 million compared with December 31, 2019)

Operating Summary (dollars in thousands, except percentages and per share data):

For the three months ended December 31, 2020, the Company reported net revenue of $245.9 million, a decrease of 13.9% from the three months ended December 31, 2019, net loss of $0.2 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $39.6 million.

For the three months ended December 31, 2020, the Company reported same station net revenue of $245.9 million, a decrease of 13.1% from the three months ended December 31, 2019, and same station Adjusted EBITDA of $39.7 million.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company reported net revenue of $816.2 million, a decrease of 26.7% from the year ended December 31, 2019, net loss of $59.7 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $81.3 million.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company reported same station net revenue of $814.8 million, a decrease of 25.2% from the year ended December 31, 2019, and same station Adjusted EBITDA of $82.2 million, a decrease of 61.6% from the year ended December 31, 2019.