“I could not be happier to be kicking off the first earnings call for TelevisaUnivision,” CEO Wade Davis said as he began the earnings review for the U.S.-focused component of a reinvented multinational operation that is now the biggest in the world serving Spanish speakers.
How did Univision Communications perform in the final three months of 2021?
Adjusted EBITDA is just slightly below where it stood in Q4 2019, coming in at $229 million compared to $230.4 million in the same period two years prior.
Revenue, however, has steadily grown from 2019 and 2020, and in Q4 2021 it reached $752.4 million.
Here’s the bad news: While Univision’s net loss greatly trimmed to $2.4 million from $39.1 million, Univision in Q4 2019 enjoyed net income of $94.4 million.
It should be noted, however, that Univision’s consolidated Adjusted OIBDA — a popular non-GAAP measure — came in at $229 million in Q4 2021. This inched ahead from $228.6 million in Q4 2020.
Once again, the Media Networks arm of Univision was the primary revenue driver. In Q4 2021, core revenue in the segment increased to $666.3 million from $602 million. Advertising revenue was up 11.4%, to $351.1 million.
Then, there is Univision Radio — a key component of a multinational multimedia company known today as TelevisaUnivision. In Q4 2021, some of the audio division’s best financial performance in years will likely excite the team behind the AMs and FMs across the U.S. and Puerto Rico the company owns.
Revenue at the Radio segment increased by 3.8% in Q4, to $65 million. That compares to $62.6 million for the same period in 2020. Live event dollars are to thank for the growth, with core advertising categories of entertainment and pharmaceutical driving the improvements.
Advertising revenue grew by 2.8% to $63 million, and live events back on the calendar played a positive role for Univision Radio. As such, core advertising revenue increased 16.5% to $55.9 million, compared to $48.0 million in the same prior period.
Meanwhile, EBITDA for Univision Radio is the highest seen since 2015, and Univision cites “cost discipline” as a key reason for this achievement.
TelevisaUnivision is privately held but holds quarterly earnings calls as a publicly traded company would.
