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Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. Reports Results for the First Quarter 2008

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Posted on: May 8th, 2008
Filed Under: [ Business ] [ Press Releases ] [ Blogante Business ]

Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. the “Company” or “SBS” Nasdaq: SBSA today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

Results and Discussions

For the quarter ended March 31, 2008, consolidated net revenue totaled $36.4 million compared to $38.9 million for the same prior year period, resulting in a decrease of $2.5 million or 6%. This consolidated decrease was mainly attributable to our radio segment which had a net revenue decrease of $3.8 million or 10%, offset by an increase in our television segment net revenue of $1.3 million or 62%. Our radio segment had a decrease in net revenue primarily due to lower local and national sales. The decrease in local sales occurred primarily in our Miami, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago markets, offset by an increase in our Puerto Rico market. The decrease in national sales occurred in our Miami, Chicago, and New York markets, offset by an increase in our Los Angeles market. Our television segment net revenue growth was primarily due to increases in subscriber revenue related to the DirecTV affiliation agreements, local spot sales, and local integrated sales.

Operating loss income totaled $2.8 million compared to $6.0 million for the same prior year period. The loss was attributable to the continuing effects of a soft economy and increases in programming and marketing investments during the quarter. Operating loss income before depreciation and amortization and gain on the disposal of assets, net, a non-GAAP measure, totaled $1.4 million compared to $7.1 million for the same prior year period. The consolidated decrease was primarily attributed to the $7.9 million decrease in our radio segments operating income before depreciation and amortization and gain on the disposal of assets, net, and the $0.7 million increase in our television segments operating loss before depreciation and amortization and gain on the disposal of assets, net. Please refer to the Segment Data and Non-GAAP Financial Measures section for definitions and a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures.

Loss income before income taxes totaled $5.9 million compared to $3.3 million for the same prior year period.

Raul Alarcon, Jr., Chairman and CEO, commented, “Our first quarter results reflect substantial growth momentum at MegaTV, offset by decreased revenues at our radio group due to the effects of a sluggish advertising environment. Consumer interest across our media assets has never been stronger and we are increasingly benefiting from our ability to provide a wide range of blue-chip clients with targeted advertising opportunities spanning TV, radio and online. Building on our partnership with DIRECTV, we are experiencing healthy traction among audiences in the nations largest Hispanic markets. We believe the growth opportunity at MegaTV is substantial as we execute our TV strategy and build awareness of our brand and differentiated content. Although the radio advertising market remains difficult primarily due to the impact of the economic downturn, we are successfully building on our loyal listener base in the nations top markets and continue to operate the leading Spanish-language radio outlets in the country, including the #1 Spanish-language station in America. Looking ahead, we remain focused on capitalizing on our solid content and expanded distribution platform to further build our audience and improve our financial results.”

Second Quarter 2008 Outlook

Taking into consideration the challenging advertising environment, we expect our second quarter 2008 consolidated net revenue to decrease in the mid-single digit range over the comparable prior year period.

First Quarter 2008 Conference Call

We will host a conference call to discuss our first quarter 2008 financial results on May 8, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. ET. To access the teleconference, please dial 973 935-2407 ten minutes prior to the start of the call and reference passcode 42812440.

A live webcast of the teleconference will be available on the investor section of our corporate Web site at www.spanishbroadcasting.com/webcasts.shtml.

A replay of the teleconference will be available via telephone through May 15, 2008. U.S. participants can access the replay by dialing 800 642-1687 and international participants can dial 706 645-9291. The passcode for the replay is 42812440. A webcast of the teleconference will be archived on our Web site for seven days.”