Beasley Broadcast Group shares finished Thursday’s trading at $1.97, rising 4.8% as the media company in eSports and radio programming disclosed an early look at its Q4 2020 results that are decidedly positive.
With the COVID-19 pandemic hammering revenue, any single-digit year-over-year dip can be viewed as a good thing. And, that’s where Beasley stands: the company generated net revenue of approximately $67.4 million to $67.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020. That compares to reported net revenue of $72.1 million for Q4 2019, representing a year-over-year decrease of between 5.8% and 6.5%.
For Q4, Beasley’s estimates a year-over-year decrease in commercial advertising revenue due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, partially offset by growth in digital, esports and political revenue.
Meanwhile, Beasley says its Q4 “Station Operating Income,” a preferred non-GAAP financial measure, increased by approximately 23.1% to 28.8% year-over-year to approximately $19.2 million to $20.1 million. This compares to reported Q4 2019 SOI of $15.6 million.
Furthermore, Q4 2020 EBITDA increased by approximately 25.0% to 33.8% year-over-year to approximately $17.0 million to $18.2 million, compared to $13.6 million in Q4 2019.
How did Beasley do it? A reduction in operating expenses and corporate overhead, realigning a company-wide cost structure, political advertising, and “an expected gain on a land sale” in Q4 2020 were noted.
What is that land sale? Look no further than Charlotte, where real estate developer Beauxwright purchased a 5.397 acre site utilized by expanded-band WBCN-AM 1660 and an adjacent 0.1 acre property for approximately $5 million.
Townhouses will pop up where the station’s single tower now sits, just north of Five Points Park in northern Charlotte.
WBCN-AM is dark. However, its “Fox Sports Charlotte” programming lives on via an FM translator fed from a HD multicast signal.
