Oct. 20, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- COLUMBIA, Md., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.

Net income for the quarter was $13.7 million or $0.51 per share (diluted), compared with $17.0 million or $0.63 per share (diluted) for the third quarter of 2008.

For the third quarter of 2009, the Company reported revenue of $98.1 million, a decrease of 4.3 percent over revenue of $102.5 million during the third quarter of 2008.

Lower revenue during the current quarter compared to the third quarter of last year is largely the result of several previously disclosed factors, including: the impact of a decision by Cumulus and Clear Channel to subscribe to a competitor's diary-based radio ratings service in a limited number of small and medium sized markets, beginning with the Spring 2009 survey period; the impact of Univision electing not to subscribe to the Portable People Meter(TM) (PPM(TM)) service in certain markets; and the continued impact of the advertising recession on renewals and new business.

Comparability between the 2008 and 2009 third quarters is also affected by the previously disclosed impact of the transition of our services from diary to PPM. During the first quarter of PPM commercialization, Arbitron recognizes revenue based on the delivery of both the final quarterly diary ratings and the initial monthly PPM ratings in each market. This impact was pronounced in the third quarter of 2008 - during which the Company commercialized the PPM service in eight large markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Costs and expenses for the third quarter increased by 1.9 percent, from $72.1 million in 2008 to $73.5 million in 2009, due primarily to the recognition of a $1.8 million, or $0.04 per share (diluted), non-cash charge relating to the acceleration of pension expense for certain pension plan participants who were part of the Company's restructuring and reorganization program.

The planned increase in expenditures for the commercialization of the PPM ratings service and the introduction of cell-phone-only household sampling in diary markets were offset by savings realized from the reorganization and restructuring program.

In the third quarter of 2009, share-based compensation totaled $2.9 million compared to $2.1 million in the third quarter of 2008.

Earnings before interest and income tax expense (EBIT) for the quarter were $22.7 million, compared with EBIT of $28.2 million for the third quarter of 2008.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, revenue was $283.4 million, an increase of 3.0 percent over revenue of $275.2 million for the same period in 2008.

EBIT decreased 12.6 percent from $56.4 million in the first nine months of 2008 to $49.3 million for the same period in 2009, due primarily to $10.1 million of reorganization and restructuring expense recorded year-to-date.

Net income for the nine-month period decreased by $4.3 million to $29.6 million compared with $33.8 million in 2008. Earnings per share (diluted) for the nine months in 2009 were $1.11 compared with $1.23 per share (diluted) last year.

Trade receivables as of September 30, 2009 were $50.0 million compared to $65.0 million as of June 30, 2009 and $50.0 million as of December 31, 2008.

Management Comment on Third Quarter 2009

"In the third quarter of 2009, Arbitron commercialized the Portable People Meter radio ratings service in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, St. Louis, Denver-Boulder, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, bringing to 25 the total number of PPM markets," said Michael Skarzynski, President and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, we have built out the PPM panels and begun the pre-currency surveys for the eight additional PPM markets that we plan to commercialize in December 2009.

"We continue to receive positive feedback from the market that electronic measurement is improving broadcasters' programming and sales strategies. Our goal is to help the radio industry leverage the advantages that PPM can offer to increase the value and utility of radio for local and national advertisers in all markets.

"With the start of the Fall 2009 survey in September, Arbitron is now sampling cell-phone-only households in all our diary-based syndicated radio markets in the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii, an important milestone in our continuous improvement programs.

"Also in the third quarter, the ratings consortium in Canada launched the world's largest combined panel for television and radio audience measurement, using our PPM technology.

"We created a Cross-Platform media measurement group, bringing together product development, sales and product management in a significant step toward leveraging our PPM technologies beyond our traditional radio business," said Mr. Skarzynski.

2009 Guidance

Arbitron is reiterating the following revenue and EPS guidance:

For the full year 2009, Arbitron continues to expect revenue to increase between two percent and six percent as compared to full year 2008 revenue of $368.8 million.

For the full year 2009, Arbitron continues to expect earnings per share (diluted) to be between $1.40 and $1.55, an increase of between three percent and 14 percent, as compared to $1.36 for the full year 2008.

The Company's earnings per share guidance for the full year 2009 currently contemplates the impact of $10.1 million in pre-tax expense, related to the restructuring and reorganization program.

Earnings conference call: schedule and access

Arbitron will host a conference call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The Company invites you to listen to the call by dialing (toll free) 888-562-3356. The conference call can be accessed from outside of the United States by dialing 973-582-2700. To participate, users will need to use the following code: 32982459. The call will also be available live on the Internet at the following sites: www.arbitron.com, www.ccbn.com and www.streetevents.com.

A replay of the call will be available from 12:00 p.m. on October 20, 2009 through 11:59 p.m. on October 27, 2009. To access the replay, please call (toll free) 800-642-1687 in the United States, or 706-645-9291 if you're calling from outside of the United States. To access the replay, users will need to enter the following code: 32982459.

Presentation of Non-GAAP Information

The terms EBIT (earnings before interest and income taxes) and EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) are non-GAAP financial measures that the management of Arbitron believes are useful to investors in evaluating the Company's results. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a replacement for, or superior to, either income from continuing operations, as an indicator of Arbitron's operating performance, or cash flow, as a measure of Arbitron's liquidity. In addition, because EBIT and EBITDA may not be calculated identically by all companies, the presentation here may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP equivalent, see the EBIT and EBITDA Non-GAAP Reconciliation, along with related footnotes, below.

About Arbitron

Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) is a media and marketing research firm serving the media - radio, television, cable, online radio and out-of-home - as well as advertisers and advertising agencies. Arbitron's core businesses are measuring network and local market radio audiences across the United States; surveying the retail, media and product patterns of local market consumers; and providing application software used for analyzing media audience and marketing information data.