Townsquare Media, Inc. (NYSE: TSQ) (“Townsquare”, the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) announced today its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.
“I am pleased to share that Townsquare’s net revenue returned to year-over-year growth, driven by sequential improvement across each of our three business segments, due to our local focus and our unique and differentiated digital platform, as well as the benefit from political revenue.
Third quarter net revenue increased +0.2% year-over-year and Adjusted EBITDA decreased -6.3% year-over-year, both meeting guidance and reflecting a sequential improvement from the first and second quarter. In addition, net income improved $47.8 million year-over-year, in large part due to a reduction in non-cash impairment charges,” commented Bill Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Townsquare Media, Inc.
“Our return to net revenue growth in the third quarter coincided with our return to total Digital net revenue growth, which increased by +1% year-over-year. In particular, Townsquare Interactive’s sequential revenue growth improved to +3% quarter-over-quarter, and Digital Advertising net revenue increased +5% year-over-year, an acceleration from the +1% revenue growth rates in the first six months of 2024.
In total, Digital represented more than half of Townsquare’s net revenue in the first nine months of the year, a true point of differentiation from others in local media, as we have evolved from a local broadcast radio company that was founded in 2010, to a Digital First Local Media Company with a world class team and a unique and differentiated strategy, assets, platforms and solutions.”
Mr. Wilson continued, “We have executed and delivered on what we said we would do, while simultaneously building value for our shareholders through dividend payments, debt reduction and share repurchases. In the first nine months of the year, we have repurchased and retired $25 million of our bonds at a discount to par ($36 million through October), and repurchased $24 million of equity, or 2.3 million shares, including the accretive share repurchase of 1.5 million shares from Madison Square Garden.
At the same time, we have maintained our high yielding dividend and a strong cash balance, which was $22 million at the end of the third quarter, and net leverage remained below 4.9x. We are gearing up for our upcoming refinancing, and we look forward to sharing that outcome with our investors when we next report.”
The Company announced today that its Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.1975 per share. The dividend will be payable on February 1, 2025 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on January 21, 2025. As of yesterday’s closing price that reflects a dividend yield of approximately 8%.
