Beasley Broadcasting Group (NASDAQ: BBGI) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.36), $0.16 worse than the analyst estimate of ($0.20). Revenue for the quarter came in at $48.2 million versus the consensus estimate of $49 million.

Commenting on the financial results, Caroline Beasley, Chief Executive Officer, said, “Beasley reported 2021 first quarter financial results consistent with the expectations we outlined when we reported the 2020 fourth quarter, as our strong revenue growth in the first two months of the comparable 2020 period, prior to the onset of the pandemic, created a difficult year-over-year comparison. Though we continued to experience challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic during the first quarter, I am pleased to report that we began to see a strong recovery. As a result, we expect Beasley to return to top-line revenue growth beginning in the second quarter of 2021.

“During the first quarter, we continued to advance our digital transformation and revenue diversification initiatives across the Company. In this regard, Beasley generated digital revenue growth of approximately 10% on a year-over-year basis, with digital accounting for approximately 12% of total first quarter revenue, compared to 9.3% of total revenue in the prior year period. Consumer demand for digital audio content remains strong and with our ongoing emphasis on digital innovation, Beasley continues attracting new business by successfully targeting the sale of non-radio products to non-radio advertisers. With the continued strong growth of our digital business, Beasley will report digital revenue as a separate segment going forward. We believe this milestone represents an important inflection point in the ongoing evolution of our operating model and clearly highlights the value of our revenue diversification strategies.

“The actions we have taken over the last year to realign our cost structure and improve efficiencies across the organization drove a year-over-year reduction in first quarter operating and corporate expenses of 15.6% and 13.5%, respectively. We believe our ability to extract meaningful expense savings out of the business provided us with the ability to make strategic investments in our commercial sales infrastructure, which will enable us to maintain our market competitiveness so we are best positioned to deliver on our revenue goals as we move deeper into the recovery phase of the pandemic.

“In addition to our expense reduction and revenue diversification initiatives, Beasley also remained committed to enhancing financial flexibility through capital structure improvements. In the first quarter, we completed our offering of $300.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 8.625% senior secured notes due 2026. The net proceeds of the offering were used to repay in full existing indebtedness under the Company’s senior secured credit facilities and other debt, with the remaining proceeds added to our balance sheet for general corporate purposes. In addition, and due to future economic uncertainty, in early February we applied for and were subsequently approved for a $10 million Paycheck Protection Program loan. Together, these transactions improve our liquidity profile, while providing growth capital to support the continued investment in our business.

“In summary, we believe our first quarter financial performance demonstrates that our digital transformation continues to gain momentum and our recent capital structure initiatives have positioned us to further leverage the highest growth areas of our business and capitalize on the many synergies between our broadcast, digital and e-sports divisions, which we believe will drive increased and more diversified cash flows in future periods. Looking ahead, our strategic priorities remain focused on delivering exceptional content and services to our listeners, advertisers, online users and esports fans, while diversifying our revenue, growing our cash flow and maintaining a solid and flexible balance sheet with liquidity at current or higher levels. We believe that this approach, positions Beasley well for near- and long-term success and the enhancement of stockholder value.”

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