iHeartMedia Earnings: Political Ads Help Drive Q2 Revenue Up 4.7%
Executives forecast continued strong advertising in the second half of the year and are predicting growth in adjusted EBITDA.
On August 10, iHeartMedia reported that its second quarter revenue grew by 4.7% to $977 million, driven by political ad campaigns for primary elections and the upcoming midterm elections. Adjusted EBITDA, however, fell 2.9% to $152 million, compared to $156 million in the same period last year. Glenn Pittman, iHeartMedia's CFO, expressed optimism about robust spending in the second half of the year from political and other advertisers.
The company's executives stated that no single advertiser contributes more than 2% of iHeart's overall ad revenue, and no industry segment contributes more than 5%, which bodes well for the company's ability to weather macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. iHeartMedia provided $65 million in cash from operating activities and $46 million in free cash flow.
The company also reaffirmed its full-year EBITDA guidance of $800 million and free cash flow of $200 million. iHeartMedia's multiplatform group, which includes over 860 broadcast radio stations, saw a 2% decline in revenue to $536 million, while digital audio group revenue increased by 12% to $364 million. The podcast division, known for shows like The Breakfast Club, reported a 21% revenue increase to $164 million, while digital revenue excluding podcasts grew by 7% to $202 million.
Adjusted EBITDA margin in the multiplatform group contracted to 10.9%, and in the digital audio group, it rose to 33.8%.
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