Cumulus Media Reports 3Q Exceeded Expectations

Cumulus Media Inc. has announced operating results for the nine months ended September 30, 2021.

Mary G. Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer of CUMULUS MEDIA, said, "Our third quarter results exceeded expectations across the board, despite the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. This performance is yet another strong example of the continuing success of our evolution from a one-dimensional radio company to a multi-dimensional, audio-first media company. 

"We see significant and continued upside potential and multiple drivers of shareholder value, which include additional radio market recovery, several fast-growing digital business lines, attractive free cash flow conversion, a strong balance sheet and liquidity profile, and substantial optionality regarding future capital allocation.”

Key Highlights:

• Released new investor presentation on September 20th highlighting the Company’s strategic positioning and levers to drive future shareholder value – the presentation (updated through 3Q) can be found on our website
• Delivered continued positive revenue trajectory across all ad channels
• Increased total revenue by 21% year-over-year
• Increased digital revenue by 67% year-over-year
• Further strengthened balance sheet through cash generation, M&A and debt forgiveness
• Generated $13 million of cash from operations and $34 million of gross proceeds from Nashville land sale
• Finished quarter with total cash balance of $153 million
• Received forgiveness of $20 million of PPP Loans (after quarter end)
• Reported total debt of $826 million as of September 30th and net debt of $673 million, an approximately 45% reduction since June 30, 2018 ($653 million pro forma for PPP Loan forgiveness)
• Reiterating 2022 EBITDA guidance range of $175 - $200 million
• Implied 2022 revenue of approximately $1.0+ billion
• Maintain expectation of more than $70 million of permanent fixed cost reductions vs. 2019

Mary Berner

Berner used the quarterly call with analysts to talk up the company’s new strategic positioning as it moves from a traditional radio model to “the multi-product, multi-channel, on-demand, audio-first media company that we're building today.” Cumulus now generates “billions of monthly impressions from a wide variety of audio sources,” she explained, which its 800-person salesforce can sell in tandem with a complementary suite of digital marketing services. This “reimagination” of its core assets allows Cumulus to play in a $30 billion market of radio, digital audio and digital marketing services instead of just the $14 billion radio ad pool, reports Inside Radio

Digital, once again, was the quarter’s main growth driver, surging to $33.4 million, a 67.1% increase over $19.9 million one year ago. Digital now accounts for 14% of revenue and has plowed $115 million into the company’s topline during the past 12 months. The Cumulus Podcast Network generates more than one billion downloads a year, helping the company land in the top five on Podtrac’s ranker of the top podcast networks in Q3. Sales of digital marketing services to local businesses grew more than 50% in the quarter.