Citing “market-driven headwinds,” Cumulus Media posted a 1.8 percent decline in its third quarter revenue for 2022. Revenue in Q3 was $233.5 million, down from $237.7 million a year ago. Broadcast radio revenue was down 4.7 percent to $177 million from $185.8 million in Q3 of last year. Spot revenue actually grew 2.3 percent but Network revenue fell 18.2 percent.
Mary G. Berner, President/CEO of Cumulus Media, said, “Notwithstanding a difficult macro environment, consistent execution of our strategic plan has put us in an enviable financial position to effectively navigate through the continuing headwinds. Our solid Q3 results reflect that execution – although total revenue declined, driven by weakness in national advertising channels, digital revenue continued to grow, and we increased profitability as well. We also generated $24 million of cash from operations, repurchased $3.9 million of shares, opportunistically retired $2.8 million of senior notes at a discount and finished the quarter with net leverage of 3.7x, the lowest it’s been in more than a decade.”
Berner added, “Looking ahead, we will continue to rigorously implement our plan, which includes: furthering our multi-platform evolution; supporting growth of multiple, profitable digital businesses; reducing our fixed cost base; investing in high-ROI internal initiatives; maintaining a disciplined approach to M&A, including enhancing cash generation from non-core asset monetization; bolstering liquidity; reducing net leverage; and optimizing a multi-pronged capital allocation strategy. Given our track record, we continue to have strong confidence in our ability, under this plan, to grow shareholder value even in the incrementally challenging macro environment.”
