Earnings Labs

Entravision Communications Corporation (EVC)

Q3 2015 Earnings Call· Thu, Nov 5, 2015

$3.85

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Entravision’s Third Quarter 2015 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode [Operator Instructions] After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions [Operator Instructions] Please also note that today’s event is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference call over to Mr. Walter Ulloa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Sir, please go ahead.

Walter F. Ulloa

Analyst

Thank you, Jamie. Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to Entravision's third quarter 2015 earnings conference call. Joining me today is Chris Young, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I must inform you that this conference call will contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ. Please refer to our SEC filings for a list of risks and uncertainties that could impact actual results. This call is a property of Entravision Communications Corporation. Any redistribution, retransmission or rebroadcast of this call in any form without the expressed written consent of Entravision Communications Corporation is strictly prohibited. Also, this call will include certain non-GAAP financial measures. The Company has provided a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures in today's press release. The press release is available on the Company's Web-site and was filed with the SEC on Form 8-K. Now moving on to a review of the third quarter. our third quarter results reflect a continued strong performance of our audio segment, further expansion of our digital revenues as well as improved results at our television group. Our audio segment and audio network business continue to outperform the broader, industry as well as our Spanish language peers. Primarily due to our industry leading content offerings. We grew our audience shares across all key audio platforms and our digital revenue streams continue to expand. Today we remain well-positioned and digital given our unique capabilities to deliver a large targeted and engage digital U.S. Latino audience to our advertising partners. We also continue to return capital to our shareholders to our quarterly dividend. Looking now as specific results, third quarter consolidated revenues were $69.3 million up 11% year-over-year. Due to increased revenues across all…

Christopher T. Young

Analyst

Thank you, Walter, and good afternoon everyone. As Walter has discussed, net revenue for the quarter was $69.3 million, up 11%. Operating expenses increased 8% to $38.8 million and consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $23.9 million. For the quarter, TV net revenue was up 5% to $43.4 million compared to $41.3 million in the same quarter of last year. The increase in our TV segment revenue was primarily attributable to approximately $5.5 million of revenue associated with television station channels modifications made by the company in order to accommodate the operations for the telecom operator and increase national revenue and an increase in retransmission consent revenue. This increase was partially offset by decreases due to the absence of World Cup and significant political advertising revenue in 2015 compared to 2014 and the increase in local advertising revenue. Excluding6 World Cup political and non-advertising revenue, our television revenues was down 1% compared to the third quarter of last year. Radio net revenue for the quarter was up 15% to $20.9 million compared to $18.1 million in the same quarter of last year. The increase in our radio segment was primarily attributable to increases in local and national advertising revenue, partially offset by the absence of World Cup revenue 2015 compared to 2014. Excluding the World Cup and political, our radio revenues were up 20% compared to third quarter of last year. Digital net revenue for the quarter was up 73% to $5 million, compared to $2.9 million in the same quarter of last year. The increase in our digital segment was primarily attributable to an increase in local revenue. Retransmission consent revenue for the quarter was $7.1 million, compared to $6.6 million in the same quarter of last year. We expect to retransmission consent revenue to be approximately $27.5 million for the…

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we’re ready to begin the question-and-answer session [Operator Instructions] And our first question today comes from James Dix from Wedbush Securities. Please go ahead with your question.

James Dix

Analyst

Hi good afternoon gentlemen. I have few, I guess first just in terms of your pacings, just for refreshment recollection. Do you pull out all of the political from both periods in that or do you make some attempt estimating displacements and then any color you can give on just a change in the pace versus the core growth that you saw in the third quarter anything that's driving that? And then I’ll just stop there and I’ve got a follow-up on that.

Christopher T. Young

Analyst

Okay. James so we do not make any adjustments for displacement in the political. So we take out 100% of the political in prior year, when we are looking at the pace.

James Dix

Analyst

Okay.

Christopher T. Young

Analyst

And then the next question you are looking for some color on core pace?

James Dix

Analyst

Yes, exactly, just kind of the change in the color of the core pace for TV and audio in particular fourth versus the third?

Christopher T. Young

Analyst

Well, I think generally speaking TV feels a little better on a core basis, we talked about the pace being flat to slightly up, we’ve got a good store running for us in the auto category in particular, we’ve got an auto pace for the TV division and that's really what is helping that segment. For audio, on a core basis, we talked about the pace being in the low-teens, once you extract political and everything is - audio seems to be firing on all cylinders and that’s been the current theme throughout the year, but the content is really working for us. And just generally speaking, as we sit here in the fourth quarter at this position, I think generally speaking, we feel sequentially better than we did at this point last quarter about how the business was trending.

James Dix

Analyst

Okay. Great and then specifically on auto, is there anything particular that’s going on, is there some promotional activity, rebate, special offers that’s starting to affect the category, I know a couple of others broadcasters have mentioned things like that. I’m just curious on that category, since it’s your largest on TV?

Walter F. Ulloa

Analyst

James, its Walter.

James Dix

Analyst

Hey Walter.

Walter F. Ulloa

Analyst

How are you?

James Dix

Analyst

Good.

Walter F. Ulloa

Analyst

Auto is just very healthy right now. You’ve got certainly the macro auto industry is pacing 16 million, 17.5 million units, which I think is going to be a record. Gas remains more affordable, interest rates low, Latino’s are the fastest growing consumers of automobiles. So I think that's contributing certainly to our growth. I think the great success we've had with content and continue to have and we were so excited the [indiscernible] we made today and that’s keeping our content roster together and certainly exciting plans we have for 2016. But I think we've done a good job overall within our marketing sales teams, I think they are doing great, but our pacing for television for fourth quarter, for automotive is plus 19, radio is way up, digital is off the chart. So overall, it’s just a strong category and we’re taking advantage of it.

James Dix

Analyst

Great and then you mentioned the audio, I mean any color especially in light of your announcement today, on just a sustainability of that level of growth. Anything in terms of comparisons that we should be thinking about for next year such as ramp and number affiliates at the network or any particular. I know certain ratings that you might be getting if you get two books for example that allows you to start seeing some national dollars that may not have been something that you had all the year, but you are starting to see now. I'm just trying to get a little bit of sense as to how to think about that for the sustainability of it into next year?

Walter F. Ulloa

Analyst

Well, just a quick comment on it. Maybe Chris has some more to add, but overall we are very pleased with the performance of our national sales team including Entravision Solutions and of course our national sales managers. But our audio network continuous to perform at the highest level, we are seeing growth, which is just incredible giving what has happened to the overall radio or audio industry. And right now we are in the process of preparing our 2016 budget. So a lot of time has been spent around, where we expect to end up next year with our audio efforts and of course included in that is digital as well. We have plans to further expand our offerings in digital with our personality that I spoke up earlier. So we think we are going to be able to report really strong numbers at the end of the year overall for our audio business, given what we’ve done so far these last three quarters. And we think the strength of our audio business will continue into 2016.

James Dix

Analyst

Okay. Great and then one last one from me. If you could just layout any milestones that we should be thinking about in terms of your participation in the auction, the FCC Incentive Auction, and your assessment of how kind of the last data dump and kind of rural tweaks by the FCC have affected your outlook for monetization or participation if at all. And then anything on the likely timing of when you would get any proceeds if you did participate? Thanks.

Walter F. Ulloa

Analyst

Well, I’ll just kind of speak about it in general terms about the upcoming 600 megahertz spectrum auction. I mean we believe that in these upcoming spectrum auctions are a terrific way for television broadcast companies to maximize shareholder value. That said, we continue to evaluate opportunities within our group. We have people here within the company working on this effort full-time and all our efforts related to the auction, but certainly we’re not in a position at this time to state what our position might be in the future with regards to the auction. It’s still a very dynamic process, we know that application will start being accepted on December 1 that window will close on December 18. I believe that the reverse auction will start sometime late in the first quarter early second quarter and should wind up sometime late in the second quarter and then you’ve got the forward auction, which will come on the heels of the reverse auction that should end around September we think. And then of course, it will all sort out after that. I believe that the rules are that any broadcaster that participates in the auction will receive compensation from his or her spectrum within two months after the forward auction is completed. But again even though we’re starting to see rules tighten up and become clear as to what the future lies ahead for all of us, it’s still a very dynamic process, at least I think it is and I’m sure that Chris others who work with both of us feel the same way

Christopher T. Young

Analyst

Yes. I don’t think we’re going to see cash going out until October, November, at the earliest of next year.

James Dix

Analyst

Okay that’s very helpful. Thank you.

Walter F. Ulloa

Analyst

Okay, thanks. Jamie next question.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Tracy Young from Evercore. Please go ahead with your question.

Tracy Young

Analyst · your question.

Yes, I just wanted to follow-up on the spectrum auction. Obviously you sort of have been talking a little bit about the opening prices, the updated or revised that came out a couple of weeks ago. Do you think in any way changed your view of the auction or you more less favorable to it. And then could you talk a little bit about the upfront that you held in New York, who is invited or the types of companies who are invited and what the intent was? Thanks.

Christopher T. Young

Analyst · your question.

I’ll take the auction question, Walter you want to take the upfront question. So the most recent data upload from the FCC wasn’t a surprise. I think most broadcaster have already solved for the starting values for every station across the country many, many months ago. For us internally there was no news in that additional information. So if anything is validated the work that we had done up until that point. I think most investors out there have not had the tools to be able to put those numbers together. So there was surprise in the investor community, but there was no new information as far as we were concerned based on research we had done to point. So I think that covers your first question. And then next question which I think was on the upfront.

Walter F. Ulloa

Analyst · your question.

Right Tracy, we are very pleased with the results of our upfront that we held in New York in early October. We invited national advertising agencies, those individuals, who are involved certainly with the network advertising schedule as well as national advertising, spot market advertising agencies. And we had three top talent that I spoke of earlier. Erazno, Piolin, Alex 'El Genio' Lucas were all there. The idea was to showcases these individuals to the New York advertising agencies and to get them excited about our plans for 2016. We had a number of our executive there and we made several presentations. We had some great entertainment as well, I think it’s the best entertainment I have seen in all the years I have been going to these many upfront. It was the best I have ever seen. So all-in-all it was a great night and we think we did a good job in communicating our marketing message to the advertising community in New York.

Tracy Young

Analyst · your question.

Thank you.

Walter F. Ulloa

Analyst · your question.

Jamie next question.

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen at this time, I’m showing no additional questions. I would like to turn the conference back over to management for any closing remarks.

Walter F. Ulloa

Analyst

Thank you Jamie and thank you everyone for participating on our third quarter conference call where we gave our earnings results for the quarter. We look forward to talking to all of you in the New Year. Sometime in the first quarter when we will give our results for the fourth quarter as well as for the full-year 2015. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen that does conclude today’s conference call. We do thank you for attending. You may now disconnect your telephone lines.