NEW YORK - iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023, with a reported revenue of $1.07 billion, a 5.2% decrease from the same quarter last year, yet slightly surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion.
The company's Q4 revenue, excluding political revenue, remained flat, indicating stability in its core business despite the broader advertising market's challenges.
The company's digital audio group showed resilience, with revenue climbing 6% to $318 million and podcast revenue notably up by 17% to $132 million. However, the multiplatform group faced a 7% decline to $684 million, attributed to a decrease in broadcast advertising and a drop in political advertising after a mid-term election year.
Despite these challenges, iHeartMedia's adjusted EBITDA for the quarter remained within the guided range of $205 million to $215 million, reaching $208 million, although it marked a decrease from $316 million in Q4 2022.
Looking ahead, iHeartMedia provided guidance for the first quarter of 2024, forecasting consolidated revenue to be flat to down 2%, and adjusted EBITDA to be between $100 million and $110 million, an improvement from $93 million in the previous year. The company remains focused on achieving a long-term target of approximately 4x net debt to adjusted EBITDA.
Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, expressed satisfaction with the Q4 results, emphasizing the historical high in adjusted EBITDA and margin achieved by the Digital Audio Group. He also highlighted the company's expectation of a recovery year in 2024, with anticipated growth in both the Multiplatform and Digital Audio Groups.
Rich Bressler, President, COO, and CFO of iHeartMedia, noted the successful reallocation of resources towards the Digital Audio Group and the expected significant year-over-year improvement in the company's 2024 financial performance, supported by efficiency efforts and a projected record-setting political advertising year.
The financial report also detailed proactive capital structure improvements, including repurchasing $15 million of senior unsecured notes and reducing the outstanding principal balance from $1.45 billion to approximately $0.9 billion since Q2 2022, expected to generate about $45 million of annualized interest savings.
iHeartMedia's financial position remains solid, with a cash balance and total available liquidity of $346 million and $772 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2023. The company continues to navigate the advertising marketplace's signs of improvement and remains committed to its long-term financial targets.
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