Friday, August 07, 2009

KOAM parent stock up $2.22 after CEO says no cuts coming

Saga Communications CEO Ed Christian is not marching in the one cut after another parade so that many media moguls have been following.

After Christian responded to a question about whether Saga would make cuts to improve the bottom line by saying, "Not on my watch," the company's stock price jumped $2.22 Thursday to $8.78 per share:

Cash flow margins at Saga have fallen to the 26-27% range, so Christian was asked if Saga can pull more cost-cutting levels to get those back up as some other radio groups have bragged about of late. “Yeah, we could, but probably not on my watch, because we’ve already instituted substantive reductions and we’re not seeking a short-term spike that we believe would weaken long-term health and the profitability of the company. That’s the difference. There are some companies that are, in the need for immediate margin and revenue gratification, are perilously close to eating their seed corn. We’re not going to get to that level,” Christian said.


Saga, which mostly owns radio stations, owns five television stations, including KOAM and KFJX in the Joplin/Pittsburg market.

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