Broadcaster reports advertising drop

NAPLES — Beasley Broadcast Group blamed a decline in advertising and rising expenses for a quarterly drop in sales and profits.

Beasley, which operates 44 radio stations, posted net income of $2.5 million in the third quarter ending Sept. 30 on revenues of $24.5 million. That compares with net income of $3.2 million on revenues of $26 million in the same quarter one year ago.

On Oct. 1, Beasley announced plans to exchange five radio stations in the Philadelphia and Miami-Fort Lauderdale markets for a total of 14 CBS Radio stations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Charlotte and Philadelphia markets.

“We don't believe third quarter operating results from continuing operations reflect the strength, ratings and local relevance of our platform, as the lower level of reported net revenue from continuing operations is temporarily mismatched with certain expenses that will be better amortized across the company's larger revenue base once we complete the asset exchange with CBS Radio,” says George Beasley, the company's chairman and CEO, in a statement.

“We are very excited by the potential presented by the CBS transaction as we will exchange five stations in Philadelphia and Miami for 14 stations in Tampa-St. Petersburg, Charlotte and Philadelphia,” Beasley says in the statement. “Throughout Beasley Broadcast Group's 53-year history, we have actively managed our station portfolio with the goal of serving the local communities where we operate, diversifying our operations, managing risk and improving financial results. The planned asset exchange with CBS Radio addresses these strategic objectives and upon completion, we will expand our owned and operated station base by nine stations increasing Beasley's portfolio to 53, including 33 FM and 20 AM stations, in 12 markets with approximately 7.7 million weekly listeners. Importantly, we will add completed clusters in the Tampa and Charlotte markets which complement our already strong mid-Atlantic presence.”

Shares of Beasley are publicly traded (symbol: BBGI; recent stock price: $5.49)