Following formal FCC approval, Audacy has announced the successful completion of its financial restructuring. The broadcaster is also providing news on the company’s future, including its leadership and surprising news from an investor standpoint.
Audacy will continue under the leadership of David Field as President and CEO. Field will also serve on the company’s new Board of Directors. The existing management team remains in place as the company moves forward.
With the completion of its restructuring, Audacy is expected to transition into a private company. The company has been trading as an over-the-counter option since being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange last November.
Field commented, “We are pleased to have successfully achieved all of our restructuring goals, emerging with an outstanding balance sheet, delivering industry-leading growth, serving our listeners and advertisers with excellence and honoring our commitments to employees and partners.”
“Today, Audacy embarks on our next chapter, capitalizing on our position as a scaled, multi-platform audio leader, differentiated by our exclusive, premium audio content, including our unrivaled leadership in sports audio, powered by our industry-leading financial strength and focused on accelerating our innovation and digital transformation. We are maximizing a broad set of opportunities to further accelerate our growth for the benefit of Audacy and all of its stakeholders.”
The restructuring reduced Audacy’s funded debt by approximately $1.6 billion – from about $1.9 billion to $350 million. This represents an 80% reduction in debt, positioning the company with a total net leverage of approximately 2.7x.
In Q2 2024, Audacy found increased digital and sports revenue but a decline in spot advertising. The company posted a net income of $2.93 million, a significant improvement compared to Q2 2023’s net loss of $125.80 million.
Total revenue for the quarter reached $301.61 million, up from $298.51 million in 2023, bolstered by political advertising and digital growth. Digital revenue rose to $74.39 million, while local and national spot advertising dipped to $179.66 million. Music radio revenue grew slightly to $146.81 million, and sports programming saw an 8.33% boost to $71.08 million. However, News/Talk revenue dropped 2.33% to $43.06 million.
Operating expenses decreased to $304.57 million, down from $433.08 million in 2023, aided by $3.87 million in restructuring charges. Audacy reported a net operating loss of $2.96 million, a significant improvement over last year’s $135.29 million loss.
🤡 Screw your investors and stockholders then sell to a communist and get bonuses for destroying a company. Only in Biden’s America!
Hooray. As once said, “May All Boats Rise!”
Sure. Stiff your creditors for over a billion dollars, and anything is possible!
How would Audacy feel if their advertisers did not pay them??!