Earnings Labs

Entravision Communications Corporation (EVC)

Q4 2008 Earnings Call· Fri, Feb 27, 2009

$3.80

-1.17%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Welcome to the Entravision Communications Corporation fourth quarter and full year 2008 earnings conference call. As a reminder, all participants will be in listen-only mode. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions at the end of today’s presentation. (Operator instructions) For your information, this conference is being recorded. I would like to turn the conference over to Walter Ulloa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Ulloa the floor is your sir.

Walter

Management

Thank you, Mike. Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Entravision’s fourth quarter 2008 earnings conference call. Joining me today is Philip Wilkinson, our President and Chief Operating Officer and Chris Young, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Before we begin, I must inform you that this conference call will contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ. Please refer to our SEC filings for a list of risks and uncertainties that could impact actual results. In addition, this call is the property of Entravision Communications Corporation. Any redistribution, retransmission or rebroadcast of this call in any form, without the express written consent of Entravision Communications Corporation is strictly prohibited. Also this call will include certain non-GAAP financial measures. The company has provided a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures in today’s press release. The press release is available on the company’s website and was filed with the SEC in a Form 8-K. In addition, with the announced sale of the company’s Outdoor Division at March 31, 2008, Outdoor was classified as a discontinued operation and the results of operations are separately reported for all periods. Our fourth quarter results reflect the continuing impact of the global financial crises and recession resulting in an advertising downturn. You will see weakness across our markets as advertisers continue to adjust our marketing budgets to changes in consumers spending. As result we recorded a decline in advertising revenue at our TV and Radio properties. We are continuing to focus on debt reduction and our committed to further reducing our cost and operating as efficiently as possible in order to maximize our cash flows without sacrificing the quality of our content or marketing efforts. Our audience shares…

Ulloa

Management

Thank you, Mike. Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Entravision’s fourth quarter 2008 earnings conference call. Joining me today is Philip Wilkinson, our President and Chief Operating Officer and Chris Young, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Before we begin, I must inform you that this conference call will contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ. Please refer to our SEC filings for a list of risks and uncertainties that could impact actual results. In addition, this call is the property of Entravision Communications Corporation. Any redistribution, retransmission or rebroadcast of this call in any form, without the express written consent of Entravision Communications Corporation is strictly prohibited. Also this call will include certain non-GAAP financial measures. The company has provided a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures in today’s press release. The press release is available on the company’s website and was filed with the SEC in a Form 8-K. In addition, with the announced sale of the company’s Outdoor Division at March 31, 2008, Outdoor was classified as a discontinued operation and the results of operations are separately reported for all periods. Our fourth quarter results reflect the continuing impact of the global financial crises and recession resulting in an advertising downturn. You will see weakness across our markets as advertisers continue to adjust our marketing budgets to changes in consumers spending. As result we recorded a decline in advertising revenue at our TV and Radio properties. We are continuing to focus on debt reduction and our committed to further reducing our cost and operating as efficiently as possible in order to maximize our cash flows without sacrificing the quality of our content or marketing efforts. Our audience shares…

Christy Young

Management

Thank you Walter and good afternoon everyone. The company sold the Outdoor Advertising business in May 2008 to Lamar Advertising from $101.5 million including an adjustment for working capital and no longer has our Outdoor operations. In accordance with FAS 144, accounting for the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets, the company reported the results of the outdoor operations and discontinued operations within the consolidated statements of operations. As the outdoor unit has been included in discontinued operations, the following results do not include the outdoor segment. As Walter discussed, net revenue for the quarter was $52.8 million, down 16%. Operating expenses decreased $0.9 million to $35.2 million and consolidated adjusted EBITDA decreased 37% to $13.9 million. Free cash flow, which we define as consolidated adjusted EBITDA minus capital expenditures expenditures, cash interest, cash taxes plus interest income was $0.04 per share. Net revenue for the year was $232.3 million down 7%. Operating expenses increased $0.6 million to $144.5 million and consolidated adjusted EBITDA decreased 19% to $74.1 million. Free cash flow, which we defined as consolidated adjusted EBITDA minus capital expenditures, cash interest and cash taxes plus interest income was $0.29 per share. Operating expenses for the quarter decreased to $35.2 million from $36.1 million, a decrease of $0.9 million or 2.5%. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in expenses associated with the decrease in revenue. Operating expenses for the year increased to $144.5 million from $143.9 million, an increase of $0.6 million. The increase was primarily attributable to the expenses associated with the expansion of our radio division in Orlando, an increase in rating services and an increase in rent and utility expense or partially offset by a decrease in expenses associated with the decrease in revenue. Corporate expenses for the quarter decreased to $4.4 million…

Operator

Operator

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Marci Ryvicker - Wachovia Wells Fargo.

Marci Ryvicker - Wachovia Wells Fargo

Analyst

Thank you. You are awfully close to your debt covenant, so are you, I guess how are you dealing with this are you in discussions with your lenders and are there any maturities coming due in the next two years?

Walter Ulloa

Analyst

Marci, we don’t have any maturities in the near-term with respect to our credit agreements. We have proactively been engaged in the conversation with our banks in a productive conversation and that’s all we really can comment about that at this time.

Marci Ryvicker - Wachovia Wells Fargo

Analyst

Okay and then, is the Comcast the largest MSO in your markets?

Chris Young

Analyst

The largest MSO, yes.

Marci Ryvicker - Wachovia Wells Fargo

Analyst

Okay, is the Time Warner the next largest?

Chris Young

Analyst

That’s correct.

Marci Ryvicker - Wachovia Wells Fargo

Analyst

Can you comment on any type of arrangement of you’ve had with Univision as they negotiate with you?

Chris Young

Analyst

No, we can’t, but as I said, the arrangement that Univision transacted with Comcast on our behalf is mutually beneficial to Univision, Comcast and Entravision.

Marci Ryvicker - Wachovia Wells Fargo

Analyst

Okay and then the last question is where is the interactive segment in your P&L?

Chris Young

Analyst

Marci, it’s in radio. It’s not a separate class that is a separate business reporting segment, but the internet activities are within the radio segment.

Marci Ryvicker - Wachovia Wells Fargo

Analyst

Are you going to break that out next year to sounds like it’s giving pretty more significant?

Chris Young

Analyst

As it becomes more significant, we will visit the issues, but there are no plans and you may return to begin breaking it out on a segment basis.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from James Dix - Wedbush Morgan.

James Dix - Wedbush Morgan

Analyst

Good afternoon, gentlemen. I guess three questions, first just following up a little bit more on the debt and any update as to open market repurchases you’ve made of debt like how much face value you have purchased to-date and for what sum and is there any further or did you have to do anymore of that? Second, how is Hispanic consumer spending on holding up in your markets? I mean, do you have a sense that you’re holding share versus your general market tiers as you’re going into this year or you losing share or just any insight you have into that? I guess finally, is there any way to mentioning the potential for further operating expense to cuts even beyond $11 million or so that you detailed?

Chris Young

Analyst

Sure, this is Chris. With respect to the debt repurchase activity back in the fourth quarter of last year, we got an amendment of back group to go-ahead and purchase up to $75 million. In the secondary market, we’ve repurchased $66.5 million, of that $75 million capacity at an average price of about $0.77. So there is a bit more availability and kind where thing stands and we have to until 12/31/09 to execute the rest.

Walter Ulloa

Analyst

As for expense cuts James so, we continue to look at, where we can cut, I would that’s a topic that we are in discussions about as a group on our weekly basis and constantly monitoring all of our operations and seeing where we can make additional cuts.

James Dix - Wedbush Morgan

Analyst

The $11 million or so, how much is that related to headcount versus other things? I know you’ve talked about --

Chris Young

Analyst

Just gave you an example, we’ve give you some information about the cuts. We trimmed our workforce by about 10% since last year. We made these cuts in the fourth quarter in November and towards end of the year.

James Dix - Wedbush Morgan

Analyst

So, we do expect $11 million, that’s currently layered into the – come in evenly over the course of the year?

Chris Young

Analyst

Yes, there will be a slightly less amounts in first quarter due the terming of the cuts. Basically, I would apply we’ll call about $3.3 million in queues from the second quarter on and maybe $3 million in the first quarter.

James Dix - Wedbush Morgan

Analyst

Okay and I guess, it’s my last one was just…

Philip Wilkinson

Analyst

Hey, James its Philip. I think there was a question about how we are holding up with general market competitors or the industry. I think that was your question, first of all better remember that the Hispanic market continued to growing five to seven times non-Hispanic market and are non-Hispanic population growth and I think that’s going to continued to be big part of driver in the future. Second, I think if you look at geographical areas that have been hit the hardest by the economic slowdown and where we operate stations for example in LA, Southern California or Northern California or Arizona Phoenix has been hit very hard as well as Nevada and few of the parts of the country, but this is where the housing crisis and the unemployment seems to be the worse. If we look at those markets we are paralleling in the other broadcasts of the market, we’re hit just as hard in those markets, but when you look at other parts of the country, where we operate like South Texas, Boston, Hartford and West Texas even parts of Florida and we look at the total market revenue were we ended up year-over-year or ’08 year over versus ’07 we’re outperforming the market, we have continued to outperforming the market. I think when this economy turns around and improves, it will become very evident that the Hispanic media will continue to outperform the general market. We adjusted a quick estimate yesterday and lifted out the power ratios and pulled the top 10 TV markets and pulled the radio markets and there is easily $80 million of revenue upside that we will real realize and we’ve receive a fresh share of the revenue equal to that as of the audience shares. So, as also if you X out the political which we did in political last year, but it still no we’re in the year what we believe we should be doing and that’s hundreds of millions of dollars in political spent in this country in television, but we’ve X out the political. We look at a market like Los Vegas which is just really got and hit hard with the housing market and our TV station if X out political again, we outperform the market by almost 500 basis points, so we’re down but not nearly as much as the other stations and our general market counted parts So, I think we go lot of upside, I think we still outperform in many, many markets, but were it’s been the toughest, toughest in terms of economy, we’re right there sub-step with the other broadcasters in the market.

James Dix - Wedbush Morgan

Analyst

Would you say, if you X out political you are still outperforming a little in TV, I mean cost call of the market first?

Philip Wilkinson

Analyst

We are finished in TV, X political, according to TVB minus in terms of the full year and TVB is got X political for the country, the industry TV, the industry at minus 13, so its three points ahead.

James Dix - Wedbush Morgan

Analyst

I just had one follow-up if I might, I’ve been hearing that network in Spanish language is doing a little bit better than the spot TV. Is that you’re impression as well, if so what do you think that might be the case?

Walter Ulloa

Analyst

Yes, because you are still question through the up front from last May which is the commitments are for Q4, Q1, Q2 and Q3, so you’ve got the season ’08, ’09 season that was, most of our purchase commitments for up front and yes they have cancellations and penalties, but that’s the reason. They laid that in before, any of this began to hit as you recall we start seeing this after September and by October we were into it pretty deeply.

Operator

Operator

(Operator Instructions) Your next question comes from David Miller - Caris & Company. David Miller - Caris & Company: Hi, good afternoon. Could you guys give us any sort of update on where you stand with the delisting notice that you got from the New York Stock Exchange. I believe that came in October, if I not mistaken, I could be wrong on that. Are you considering any sort of reverse split and if not what other alternatives might you be considering to remaining in compliance with your requirements? Thanks very much.

Philip Wilkinson

Analyst

Yes, David we got out notice actually in December and we have until June to remedy the scenario. We’ve submitted the responses back with the New York Stock Exchange basically communicating are intention to remedy it at that point and that’s kind of where things stands so. There are host of options you can imagine all of them traditional that we have at our fingertips with respect to remedying the situation. They’ve been reports out there that New York Stock Exchange is contemplating easing that dollar price restriction for listing the requirement, so that we’re obviously I’m carefully, but that’s we’re the situation stands.

Operator

Operator

Mr. Ulloa, gentlemen we shall no further questions at this time.

Walter Ulloa

Analyst

Thank you Mike and thanks to everyone for participating in our fourth quarter 2008 investor conference call. We look forward to reporting to all of you, in May of 2009 our first quarter results. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Yes, thank you. Thank you all for participating in the Entravision Communications Corporation conference call. This concludes today’s event.