Entercom Communications has reported its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2019. Net revenues for the quarter were $380.7 million, up 2.3 percent compared to $372.1 million in the second quarter of 2018. Total operating expense for the quarter was $315.9 million, which included $4.9 million in merger, restructuring and integration costs and $1.9 million in expense related to the company’s issuance of 6.5 percent senior secured second-lien notes. This compared to $344.6 million in the second quarter of 2018, which included $10.9 million in merger, restructuring and integration costs and a $29.0 million impairment charge. Operating income for the quarter was $64.8 million, compared to $27.6 million in Q2 2018.
Entercom President/CEO David J. Field stated, “Second quarter revenues and EBITDA were up 2.3% and 7%, respectively, driven by strong growth in national, network and digital, partially offset by declines in political and events. This morning, we announced the acquisition of Pineapple Street Media, and an agreement in principle to acquire Cadence13, which combined will make Entercom one of the country’s three largest podcast enterprises. We also announced the launch of the Radio.com Sports Digital Network, which will debut later this month with a compelling lineup of daily radio shows and weekly podcasts available exclusively on Radio.com. These moves highlight a series of strategic investments that are positioning Entercom to capitalize on the exciting growth opportunities in the audio space fueled by rapidly emerging catalysts, including podcasting, smart speakers, audio search, enhanced analytics and attribution.”