Beasley profits from cuts

A business has two options for boosting profit: it can either increase revenue, or decrease cost. Beasly Broadcast Group Inc. went with the latter choice in this year's first quarter, managing to post a slightly positive net income despite declining revenue.

Indeed, net revenues were down 3.2% relative to the first quarter of 2009, a $0.7 million decrease. Six of the company's 11 so-called market clusters saw declines, the company said in a release.

But the company managed to reduce total operating expenses by 7.7% relative to last year, the release said, taking net income into positive territory with a $0.5 million total.

Chief executive officer George G. Beasley pointed to positive trends in overall advertising spending to illustrate the company's future potential, while at the same time noting recent successes, however slight.

“In the 2010 first quarter we generated monthly sequential improvements in revenue, with March representing the first month in over two years that Beasley Broadcast Group recorded revenue growth,” he said.