Entravision Communications roared into 2023, per their first-quarter earnings call after the stock market’s close on Thursday. Digital led the lion’s share of revenue, responsible for 82%, while audio had the smallest piece of the pie.
CFO and Interim CEO Chris Young joined President and COO Jeffery Liberman on the call, reporting Entravision’s net revenue climbed to $239 million, increasing by 21% compared to the previous year. This also beat the consensus revenue estimate of $226.88 million. However, operating expenses also rose by 20%, leading to a decline in consolidated EBITDA by 28%.
Both Young and Liberman touted the resilience of audio, especially Spanish-language radio. Entravision’s radio division accounted for 5% of Q1 revenue bringing in $12.2 million, but was still down 3% from Q1 2022. Liberman attributed this to a lack of political ad revenue and headwinds from bank failures, like SVB.
Quarter two is also pacing high at an estimated 18% gain, with digital currently up 25%. Radio is still running lower at a five percent decline YOY, with core audio excluding political pacing -1%. Audio is looking for increased political spending in key states to support national sales in the back half of the year.
