Media General Inc. today reported a 2% drop in third quarter revenue when including the contributions of the stations it added from its merger with LIN Media, even though the merger didn’t close until Dec. 14, 2014,
Breaking down the pro forma results:
- Net revenues decreased 2% from the year-ago quarter to $322 million.
- Net local revenues, which include net local advertising revenues and retransmission consent fees, increased 11% to $212 million in the third quarter, compared to the prior year.
- Net national revenues increased 1% to $52 million.
- Net digital revenues increased 3% to $44 million.
- Net political revenues decreased $27 million compared to the prior election year.
- Adjusted EBITDA decreased 22% to $81 million.
Excluding political, said Media General CEO Vincent Sadusky, total net revenues increased 7% in the quarter. “Our strong results were driven by 4% growth in core advertising and higher retransmission consent fees. Our team made meaningful progress on the integration of our legacy companies, including over-achieving on synergies. We believe we are well-positioned for a great 2016 as we capitalize on our scale, political footprint and the popularity of live events, such as the Summer Olympics on our 14 NBC stations.”
Auto advertising, which accounted for 28% of total sales in the quarter, increased 7% in the quarter, the company said.
On the pro forma basis, the company said it expects that net revenues for the fourth quarter will decrease in the range of 2% to 5% (or $7 million to $18 million). Excluding political, however, revenue will increase in the range of 11% to 115%, it said.
Read the company’s report here.
Comments (0)