iHM Reports Q1 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates

iHeartMedia reported first quarter revenue fell 9.5% to $706.6 million from $780.6 in 2020. Operating loss was $76 million compared to $1.7 billion in prior-year, which included $1.7 billion of impairment charges. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA declined 27.1% to $102 million from $140 million. The company reported a net loss of $242 million as compared with a net loss of $1.68 billion in the year-ago period.

Broadcast Radio 

• Revenues decreased 22.3% to $358.5 million from $461.6 million, while Network revenue declined 14.5% to $115 million from $134 million. 
• Podcast revenue jumped 141.9% to $38 million from $15.8 million.

Digital Audio Group Maintains Strong Growth and Profit Trajectory  

• Digital Audio Group Revenues were up 70% YoY
• Podcast Revenue was up 142% YoY, and Digital Revenue excluding Podcast were up 55% YoY
• Segment Adjusted EBITDA of $40 million increased 141% YoY, and Segment Adjusted EBITDA margins expanded 750 bps YoY
• Digital Audio Group contributed 22% of the Company's Revenue and 39% of the Company's Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA in Q1

Podcast Continues its Strong Performance for Listeners, Creators, and Advertisers

• iHeart remains the number one podcast publisher, leading the industry in downloads and unique listeners, further increasing our lead over the 2nd and 3rd largest publishers, according to Podtrac. We are also #1 in podcast revenue and earnings
• Formed exclusive multi-year podcasting partnership with the NFL, which is expected to generate exceptional podcast content and listener engagement
• Launched a first-of-its-kind Private Podcast Marketplace for brands

Bob Pittman

"The first quarter outperformed our expectations on all financial metrics as the company continues its steady recovery from the COVID-19 downturn, which is not just a continuation of the positive trends we've seen across the business - we believe it's a validation of our long-term multiplatform product and revenue strategy and the investments we have made in growth areas like podcasting, ad tech and the continued expansion of broadcast radio on digital devices," said Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman. 

"As a company we continue to prioritize identifying new opportunities across the audio, advertising, and data analytics sectors to expand our Total Addressable Market from just the $15B of Radio TAM to include the $160B of Digital TAM, providing us with new revenue opportunities for meaningful and sustainable growth for all our operating segments."

"Our ability to adapt and innovate, as well as our strategic allocation of capital, during the COVID-19 pandemic have set the stage for strong growth in 2021. Our cost management, investments in key areas of growth, and focus on our core-competencies helped us to achieve Adjusted EBITDA of $102 million in the first quarter, and we remain confident that we will be back to 2019 Adjusted EBITDA levels by the end of 2021," added President, COO and CFO Rich Bressler.