“We achieved a record quarterly advertising revenue of $274.4 million, up 14% year-over-year, led by strength in our Digital segment, which now comprises 84% of total revenue,” said Chris Young, Chief Financial Officer for Entravision Communications — a company rooted in Hispanic radio and TV in the U.S. but today is, beyond a doubt, a global digital ad solutions leader.
A simple glance at the company’s Q3 2023 results illustrates just how significant, and large, the digital revenue is for the company founded by the late Walter Ulloa.
For the period ending September 30, Digital Net Revenue soared by 23% to $231.49 million, from $188.88 million. By comparison, Television net revenue slid by 17%, moving to $29.55 million from $35.68 million, as Audio division net revenue (inclusive of Radio) declined by 19%, to $13.38 million from $16.5 million.
While it is clear that Digital fueled that net revenue growth, operating expenses grew by 9% overall — and by 21%, to $23.17 million, for the Digital segment.
Thus, while Entravision continued to execute on its “digital transformation strategy” during the quarter, a period that saw the signing of two new partnerships with Match and Pinterest, consolidated EBITDA declined by 45% to $14.19 million, from $25.97 million. Operating income slumped by 68%, to $5.13 million.
While non-returning political revenue and sales softness are to blame, Entravision nevertheless saw its net income fall by 70% in Q3 2023, dipping to $2.72 million ($0.03) from $9.39 million ($0.11).
Despite the steep year-over-year revenue dip, the revenue is in line with the consensus estimate from three analysts polled by Yahoo! Finance. Two analysts offered an EPS forecast, resulting in range of $0.01-$0.07; Entravision’s EPS fell right in the center of this range.
Entravision’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend to shareholders of $0.05 per share on the company’s Class A and Class U common stock, payable on December 29 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 15.
