Beasley profit falls 51%

NAPLES — Radio station operator Beasley Broadcast Group reported net income fell 51% to $1.2 million on revenues of $24.7 million in the third quarter compared with the same period one year ago.

The company says a $2.6 million pretax charge for loss on the extinguishment of long-term debt resulted in the drop in profits in the third quarter.

However, Beasley reported operating income rose 15.2% to $6.5 million in the third quarter compared with the same quarter one year ago. The company says operating income grew from a combination of lower expenses and net revenue that rose 3.1%.

“Our third quarter revenue growth principally reflects strength in our Las Vegas, coastal Carolina, and Augusta market clusters, the cyclical benefit of political advertising and very strong year-over-year growth in the automotive advertising category,” says George Beasley, the company's chairman and CEO, in a statement.

Beasley Broadcast operates 43 stations in 11 large and mid-sized U.S. markets. The company's shares are publicly traded (symbol: BBGI; recent price: $4.85).

You can read a recent Business Review profile of the company here.