(NYSE: ARB) today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011.The Company reported revenue of $105.6 million, an increase of 6.1 percent as compared to revenue of $99.5 million during the third quarter of 2010.
Revenue increased on a quarter over quarter basis primarily as a result of commercializing the Portable People Meter’ (PPM‘) radio ratings service in new markets during the fourth quarter 2010 as well as the continued phase-in of contracted PPM price increases.
Costs and expenses for the third quarter of 2011 were $77.2 million, a decrease of 1.8 percent from $78.6 million for the same period in 2010.
Earnings Before Interest, Income Tax Expense, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter was $33.6 million, an increase of 32.4 percent compared with EBITDA of $25.4 million for the third quarter of 2010.
The Company’s EBITDA margin in the third quarter 2011 was 31.8 percent, an increase of 630 basis points from the EBITDA margin of 25.5 percent in the third quarter of 2010.
For the third quarter of 2011, net income was $15.4 million, compared with $11.3 million for the third quarter of 2010. Earnings per share (diluted) was $0.55 for the quarter versus $0.42 for the third quarter of 2010, an increase of 31 percent.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, revenue was $302.2 million, an increase of 6.5 percent as compared to revenue of $283.7 million for the same period in 2010.
Costs and expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 were $237.7 million, an increase of 0.3 percent versus the same period in 2010.
EBITDA was $87.2 million in the first nine months of 2011, an increase of 29.2 percent from $67.5 million for the same period in 2010. EBITDA margin in the first nine months of 2011 was 28.8 percent, an increase of 500 basis points from 23.8 percent for the same period in 2010.
Net income for the nine-month period increased to $39.2 million from $28.9 million in 2010.
Earnings per share (diluted) for the first nine months of 2011 was $1.42 compared with $1.07 per share (diluted) for the first nine months of 2010, an increase of 32.7 percent.
Management Comment on Third Quarter 2011 Activities and Results
Said William T. Kerr, President and Chief Executive Officer:
“In July, we acquired Zokem Oy, a Finland-based mobile audience measurement and analytics firm. This acquisition further enhances our mobile measurement capabilities, which will be valuable for our future cross-platform initiatives.
“We continue to make promising steps in establishing ourselves in the market for cross-platform services. A proof-of-concept project awarded to Arbitron by the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) to use a single-source panel to measure television, Internet and mobile usage is now up and running.
We expect to deliver the first three-screen media insights to the members of CIMM in the fourth quarter.
“As we identify, and as appropriate, invest in these growth initiatives, we also continue to maintain and improve the quality of our radio ratings services.
These efforts include the expansion of targeted in-person recruitment in our PPM markets, initiatives to improve the representation of cell phone households in our diary and PPM samples and research into a web-based alternative to the paper and pencil diary.”
2011 Guidance
Arbitron is reiterating its revenue and earnings per share guidance for 2011.
For the full year 2011, Arbitron continues to expect revenue will increase between six percent and eight percent versus 2010 revenue.
Earnings per share for the full year 2011 is expected to be between $1.90 and $2.05 per share (diluted.)
For the year, the Company continues to expect the 2011 impact of the Zokem acquisition and related operating losses to reduce earnings by $0.07 to $0.09 per share (diluted), which is contemplated in the earnings guidance above.
Earnings Conference Call: Schedule and Access
Arbitron will host a conference call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 25, 2011.
The Company invites you to listen to the call toll-free by dialing (800) 826-1884. The conference call can be accessed from outside of the United States by dialing (216) 672-5602.
To participate, users will need to use the following code: 15106489. The call will also be available live on the Internet at the following sites: www.arbitron.com and www.streetevents.com.
A replay of the call will be available from 1:00 p.m. on October 25, 2011 through 11:59 p.m. on November 1, 2011. To access the replay, please call (toll free) (855) 859-2056 in the United States, or (404) 537-3406 if you’re calling from outside of the United States. To access the replay, users will need to enter the following code: 15106489
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 net income 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 directly comparable GAAP measure, see the EBIT and EBITDA Non-GAAP Reconciliation, along with related footnotes, below.
