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Beasley Broadcast Group, 2/18/20 | | page 3 |
“During the fourth quarter we further expanded Beasley’s role in the fast-growing esports vertical by acquiring a majority interest in the Houston Outlaws, one of only 20 Overwatch League teams in the world. The transaction partners Beasley with Blizzard Entertainment and its parent company Activision Blizzard, a leading global developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content and services. Our growing esports infrastructure and management combined with our success in hosting and promoting large events and our national esports content hub—BeasleyXP—are key factors in our expectations for long-term returns from this investment.
“In addition to our growth and diversification initiatives, we remain committed to enhancing shareholder value through capital returns and leverage reduction. In the fourth quarter, we used net cash provided by operating activities to pay our twenty-fifth consecutive quarterly cash dividend and made voluntary debt repayments of $7.0 million, with total outstanding long-term debt of $263.5 million as of December 31, 2019.
“In 2020, Beasley intends to continue to actively manage our business to best position the Company for the future with the goal of delivering exceptional content and services to our listeners, advertisers, online users and esports fans, while creating new value for our shareholders. We remain focused on our strategic priorities of realizing synergy targets, reducing debt and leverage, taking advantage of political revenue opportunities, improving top and bottom-line performance and returning capital to shareholders through our quarterly cash dividend. We believe our radio platform and competitive positions in our markets are as strong as ever and remain confident that our revenue diversification initiatives, including our digital media initiatives, are creating new opportunities for further growth and enhanced shareholder returns.”
Conference Call and Webcast Information
The Company will host a conference call and webcast today, February 18, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. ET to discuss its financial results and operations. To access the conference call, interested parties may dial334/323-0501, conference ID 6600898 (domestic and international callers). Participants can also listen to a live webcast of the call at the Company’s website at www.bbgi.com. Please allow 15 minutes to register and download and install any necessary software. Following its completion, a replay of the webcast can be accessed for five days on the Company’s website, www.bbgi.com.
Questions from analysts, institutional investors and debt holders may bee-mailed to ir@bbgi.com at any time up until 9:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, February 18, 2020. Management will answer as many questions as possible during the conference call and webcast (provided the questions are not addressed in their prepared remarks).
About Beasley Broadcast Group
Celebrating its 59th anniversary this year, Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., (www.bbgi.com) was founded in 1961 by George G. Beasley who remains the Company’s Chairman of the Board. Beasley Broadcast Group owns and operates 64 stations (47 FM and 17 AM) in 15 large- andmid-size markets in the United States. Approximately 19 million consumers listen to Beasley radio stations weeklyover-the-air, online and on smartphones and tablets, and millions regularly engage with the Company’s brands and personalities through digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, text, apps and email. Beasley recently acquired a majority interest in the Overwatch League’s Houston Outlaws esports team and owns BeasleyXP, a national esports content hub. For more information, please visitwww.bbgi.com.
Definitions
Station Operating Income (SOI) consists of net revenue less station operating expenses. We define station operating expenses as cost of services and selling, general and administrative expenses.
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