Radio business bellwether Clear Channel said radio revenue increased 3% to $640 million in the first three months of the year, compared to last year’s first quarter, and that local advertising was the main driver.
Of that increase, $10.6 million was in local advertising and $7.4 million from digital, traffic and other revenues. National business was off slightly.
Overall, parent CC Media Holdings said revenue grew 5% to $1.32 billion in the quarter. It lost money, though, with a net loss of $132 million, though that’s down from a net loss of $175 million a year earlier.
The company sought to focus attention on one aspect of its latest financial numbers, called OIBDAN. It said that statistic grew 20% in the quarter because increases in revenues outpaced those in costs.
Reporting the quarterly figures, EVP/CFO Tom Casey mentioned “gains in multiple markets and categories in our radio segment” and said the global ad market continues to improve.
Clear Channel also has not yet found a permanent successor to Mark Mays as CEO/president (who remains as chairman) and continues to look. Right now Casey and Robert Walls are manning the new “Office of the Chief Executive Officer.”
