Cumulus Media Reports 11.4 Percent Revenue Drop

Cumulus Media Inc. today announced operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

Mary G. Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cumulus Media, said, “Extending our track record of strong operational and financial execution during challenging times, in the first quarter, we grew our digital marketing services revenue by more than 23%, completed the sale of WFAS-FM, continued to repurchase shares and retire debt at a discount, and have now executed $10 million of additional annualized cost reductions. That said, the impact of the considerable macro-driven weakness in the national advertising market, as well as the unfavorable prior year political and WynnBET comparisons,  ultimately resulted in total revenue and Adjusted EBITDA declines.”

Mary Berner

Berner continued, “Though the difficult national market trends persist, we have confidence in our ability to successfully navigate adverse environments such as this one. Specifically, since 2019 through the COVIDimpacted years, we have had best-in-class performance in terms of fixed cost reduction, Adjusted EBITDA  margin recovery, Adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow conversion and net debt reduction. With our current liquidity profile and solid balance sheet, we believe that we are not only well-positioned to weather the current storm but will rebound strongly when the market eventually recovers."

Q1 Performance Summary: 

• Posted total net revenue of $205.7 million, a decline of 11% year-over-year
• Increased digital revenue to $32.1 million, representing 16% of total revenue 
• Grew digital marketing services 23% year-over-year, driven by new products and  capabilities and new customer acquisition 
• Increased streaming revenue by 16% year-over-year, driven by monetization of new NFL  streaming rights 
• Recorded first quarter net loss of $21.5 million compared to net loss of $0.9 million in Q1 2022 and  first quarter Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $10.3 million compared to $31.2 million in Q1 2022 
• Generated additional cash, returned capital to shareholders and reduced debt 
• Delivered $23.7 million of cash from operations 
• Completed sale of WFAS-FM for $7.3 million
• Completed $1.5 million of open market share repurchases, retaining $16.7 million of  availability under previously announced $50 million share repurchase authorization
• Retired $6.3 million face value of debt at an average purchase price of 90.1% of par
• Reported total debt of $713.1 million at March 31, 2023, and net debt(1) of $594.2 million, in each instance, the lowest level in more than a decade