Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. Reports Results For 2021 First Quarter

 

Tough news coming out of Clear Channel Outdoor yesterday with the release of Q1 report. See the release below and for more insights read CEO William Eccleshare’s comments. Click⇒ the full transcript via Seekin Alpha including Investors Q & A’s. 

Americas: Revenue down 28.4%:

• Revenue down across all products, with largest decline from airport displays
• Airport display revenue down 62.4% to $19.5 million
• Total digital revenue down 36.3% to $62.9 million; digital revenue from billboards, street furniture and spectaculars down 24.2% to $56.3 million
• National sales comprised 36.0% and 37.7% of total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively

 

Operating Highlights:

Americas:

• Our Americas business strengthened its leading audience attribution solution, RADAR-Proof^®, by partnering with Kochava, the leading real-time data solutions company for omni-channel attribution and measurement. The combined offering helps brands better understand out-of-home advertising’s impact on key metrics such as user engagement, website visits and app downloads. This is the kind of compelling data that is enabling CCO to demonstrate the power of our platform in influencing consumers on the move.
• Our Americas business entered into a partnership with Resorts World Las Vegas. In conjunction with the opening of the resort this summer and return of convention activity, we will be launching three full-motion digital out-of-home displays, providing brands with premium visibility on the Strip. Representing one of the largest exterior LED building displays in the U.S., the platform will deliver over 135,000 square feet of cutting edge, digital signage.
• The American Advertising Federation honored our Americas business with a 2021 Mosaic award. We received the award, in conjunction with Twitter, in the Innovative Narratives category for our “Twitter Black Lives Matter Campaign.” Mosaic Award winners were recognized for their creative work and unwavering commitment to inclusion and for giving a voice to multicultural communities.
• Americas markets deployed 14 new digital billboards in the first quarter, for a total of more than 1,400 digital billboards at March 31, 2021. Our Americas segment had more than 2,000 digital billboards and street furniture displays at March 31, 2021.

 

 

 

SAN ANTONIO, May 10, 2021 — Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCO) (the “Company”) today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021.

“During the first quarter, we continued to execute on our strategy to maximize the revenue potential of our global portfolio and optimize our ability to take full advantage of the economic recovery,” said William Eccleshare, Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. “Our financial results were in line with our expectations and reflect the continued impact of the pandemic on global advertising spend coupled with a tough comparison against our strong performance in the comparable period last year. We are beginning to see improvement in mobility and advertising activity across many of our markets as the vaccination process gains traction and restrictions are eased. We expect the market environment to continue to improve as the year progresses, with consolidated revenue returning to growth in the second quarter as compared to the prior year.

“Looking ahead, we are continuing to direct our investments in technology, including expanding our digital platform and further strengthening our data analytics and programmatic capability, with the aim of maximizing the potential of our digital boards. As we elevate our ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of our assets in influencing consumer behavior and continue to make our inventory easier to buy, we will look to expand our revenue growth potential. At same time, we will continue to carefully manage our costs, while preserving our liquidity as we navigate the evolving macroeconomic climate and focus on driving profitable growth over the long-term.”

Financial Highlights:

Financial highlights for the first quarter of 2021, as compared to the same period of 2020:

Americas:

• Revenue was $211.9 million compared to $295.8 million.
• Segment Adjusted EBITDA¹ was $64.2 million compared to $108.0 million.

Europe:

• Revenue was $149.5 million compared to $211.7 million. Revenue, excluding movements in foreign exchange rates (“FX”), was $137.1 million compared to $211.7 million.
• Segment Adjusted EBITDA¹ was $(67.6) million compared to $(14.1) million. Segment Adjusted EBITDA¹, excluding movements in FX, was $(61.7) million compared to $(14.1) million.

COVID-19 Impacts:

During the first quarter of 2021, we continued to see revenues remain significantly below historic norms in all of our segments.

• In our Americas segment, our airport display revenue was the most significantly impacted. The U.S. experienced a decrease in reported daily COVID-19 cases and improvement in mobility levels during the first quarter of 2021 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
• In Europe, an increase in reported daily cases and hospitalizations resulted in the reinstatement of mobility restrictions in certain countries which created significant volatility in our Europe segment booking activity, particularly in France and the United Kingdom (“U.K.”). Additionally, mobility levels remained significantly below pre-COVID-19 levels.

Mitigating Liquidity Measures:

Throughout the first quarter, we continued to take measures to increase our liquidity and preserve and strengthen our financial flexibility, including renegotiating contracts with landlords and municipalities to better align fixed site lease expenses with reductions in revenue, executing on our restructuring plan to reduce headcount in our Europe segment, obtaining European governmental support and wage subsidies, reducing discretionary expenses, deferring capital expenditures, and deferring site lease and other payments to optimize working capital levels.

In February, we issued $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of 7.75% Senior Notes due 2028 (the “CCOH Senior Notes”) and used the net proceeds from the issuance to redeem $940.0 million aggregate principal amount of the 9.25% Senior Notes due 2024 (the “CCWH Senior Notes”).

As of March 31, 2021, we had $642.2 million of cash on our balance sheet.

Current Activity and Guidance:

In April 2021, we revised the Europe portion of our international restructuring plan, which we began in the third quarter of 2020 primarily in response to the impact of COVID-19. We expect this plan to be substantially complete by the end of the first quarter of 2023. As revised, we estimate that total charges for the Europe portion of the international restructuring plan, including charges already incurred, will be in a range of approximately $51 million to $56 million and will consist primarily of termination benefits (including severance) and other associated costs, and we expect the Europe portion of the plan to result in pre-tax annual cost savings in excess of $28 million.

Additionally, in May 2021, we entered into a second amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Agreement to, among other things, extend the suspended springing financial covenant through December 31, 2021 and further delay the scheduled financial covenant step-down until September 30, 2022.

For the second quarter, we expect Americas revenue to be between $265 million and $275 million, with Adjusted EBITDA margin improving sequentially from the first quarter. Excluding the impact of movements in foreign exchange rates, we expect Europe revenue to be between $200 million and $220 million.

The restructuring charges described above are preliminary estimates; actual amounts may be materially different from these estimates, and there is no guarantee that the Company will achieve the cost savings that it expects. As such, we will consider expanding or implementing further cost savings initiatives throughout 2021 as circumstances warrant. The second quarter expected results described above may be impacted by factors outside of the Company’s control, such as the continuing impacts from COVID-19; actual results may be materially different from this guidance.

 

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