Salem Touts Q2 Performance

Salem said its startup and developing stations helped lead the company to a strong second quarter. President/CEO Ed Atsinger III said in a statement the company’s performance “significantly” exceeded that of the overall radio industry.
The company, which trades on Nasdaq and has 99 radio stations, reported that net broadcast revenue was up about 10% to $47.8 million and station operating income up about 19% compared to the same period last year. Same-station revenue was up 9.4%.
Halfway through the year, Salem’s net broadcast revenue has increased 10.7%, while according to the most recent RAB figures, overall industry revenue is up only 3%.
The company’s contemporary Christian music stations did particularly well in the quarter, according to the announcement. The company has also paid down debt and now has “additional acquisition capacity that will allow us to take advantage of attractive and strategic acquisition opportunities,” Atsinger stated.
Since March, the company has said it intends to buy WRMR(AM) in Cleveland; KPOI(FM) and KHUI(FM) in Honolulu; and KIIS(AM) in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Salem also says its Web arm has closed the purchase of Christianjobs.com, a faith-based Internet job search company, for $250,000.