International successes deliver strong results
INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Emmis Communications
Corporation (Nasdaq: EMMS) today announced results for its second fiscal
quarter ended August 31, 2008.
'Our team at Emmis continues to deliver during these challenging times for
the U.S. economy,' Emmis Chairman and CEO Jeff Smulyan said. 'We delivered 2
percent growth in operating income during the first six months of the fiscal
year based in no small part on the explosive growth in our International
operations. During the second quarter, net revenue at our radio operations in
Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Belgium grew an amazing 38 percent. This type
of performance, coupled with responsible actions to manage our expenses and
balance sheet, position Emmis well to benefit from the U.S. economy's
inevitable recovery.'
For the second fiscal quarter, net revenue was $94.2 million, compared to
$95.7 million for the same quarter of the prior year.
Diluted net income per common share from continuing operations was $0.02,
compared to $0.04 for the same quarter of the prior year.
For the second quarter, pro forma radio net revenues decreased 1.7 percent
and pro forma publishing net revenues decreased 6.6 percent. Domestic radio
net revenues for the second quarter decreased 8.4 percent compared to the same
period of the prior year.
For the second quarter, operating income was flat at $17.1 million
compared to the same quarter of the prior year, while Emmis' station operating
income was down slightly to $26.4 million, compared to $26.5 million for the
same quarter of the prior year.
Emmis has included supplemental pro forma net revenues, station operating
expenses, and certain other financial data on its website, www.emmis.com under
the 'Investors' tab.
International radio net revenues and station operating expenses, excluding
depreciation and amortization, for the quarter ended August 31, 2008, were
$14.9 million and $9.0 million, respectively, representing a pro forma
increase of 38 percent and 22 percent, respectively, over the same period of
the prior year.
During the quarter, Emmis completed the sale of its remaining television
station, WVUE-TV in New Orleans, to Louisiana Media Company for $41 million,
with after-tax proceeds of approximately $38.1 million. Gross proceeds from
the sale of the company's 16 television stations were $1.24 billion. In
addition, during the quarter, Emmis received $3.1 million as a final
settlement of its business interruption claim due to Hurricane Katrina's
impact on the station.
Also during the quarter, Emmis Publishing suspended publication of Tu
Ciudad Los Angeles because the magazine's financial performance did not meet
the Company's expectations. The magazine's operating expenses for the second
fiscal quarter of $1.2 million include all shut-down-related costs, and the
magazine's operating results have been classified as discontinued operations
for all periods presented.
Subsequent to the quarter's end, Emmis began a program that uses a portion
of the cash from the sale of WVUE-TV in New Orleans, and possibly Emmis'
common stock, to pay quarterly bonuses to 64 employees to offset temporary
salary reductions. Although the employees will be receiving the same amount of
pay under the program, the structure of the program lowers operating costs
under the terms of our credit agreement.
Emmis Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of Emmis Communications
Corporation, announced in April that it would begin to market its services to
radio broadcasters and other local media companies. Since that announcement,
Emmis Interactive has signed on more than 100 non-Emmis stations to its
successful interactive platform, with another dozen signing up for Emmis
Interactive's exclusive iTunes storefront technology.
The following table reconciles reported results to pro forma results
(dollars in thousands):
3 months ended 6 months ending
Aug. 31, % Aug.
