Nexstar Broadcasting announces record quarterly results

Nexstar Broadcasting, which owns and/or operates KODE and KSNF in Joplin and KOLR and KSFX in Springfield, issues its quarterly results Thursday. The news release is printed below:

Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) (“Nexstar”) today reported record financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010 as summarized below:



Perry A. Sook, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., commented, “Nexstar’s record quarterly financial results highlight our significant revenue diversification progress which drove the highest quarterly results in the company’s history. Our success in driving profitable revenue growth reflects the strength of our core local content, ability to develop distribution and digital extensions for our core content including the creation of new online, text and mobile content and applications, and the benefit derived from leveraging our management operating disciplines to provide services to other broadcasters. Further illustrating the momentum of our revenue diversification strategies, fourth quarter 2010 net revenue rose 20.9% over the same period in 2008, which was a Presidential election year. Strength in core television advertising trends -- which began for Nexstar in the 2009 fourth quarter -- is continuing in 2011 and we are well positioned to further grow all of our non-political revenue sources throughout 2011.


“Nexstar’s fourth quarter gross local and national television ad revenue growth of 2.8% follows 7.2% growth in last year’s fourth quarter and was achieved even as we allocated significant inventory to political advertising which grew 515%. Nexstar’s television ad revenue strength combined with continued double-digit growth in every element of our revenue ‘quadruple play,’ resulted in a 31.2% increase in fourth quarter net revenue. Reflecting the Company’s operating disciplines, we are generating significant incremental cash flow from revenue growth as fourth quarter BCF increased 63.4%, adjusted EBITDA rose 70.4% and free cash flow was up 126.5%.

“Nexstar’s proactive strategies for building new-to-television local direct billings as well as the overall advertising recovery drove a fifth consecutive quarter of core television advertising revenue growth. Importantly, the resurgence in automotive advertising continues unabated with category revenue rising 16% year-over-year and reaching the highest quarterly dollar level in 2010, even as we managed inventory to book record political revenue. The Company’s fourth quarter gross television ad revenue of $85.9 million included approximately $22.6 million of political advertising revenue as Nexstar stations garnered leading shares of the political ad spending in our markets based on the strong appeal of our high quality local news content.

“With continued impressive growth of our ‘quadruple play’ of revenue drivers Nexstar is more diversified and resilient to the political advertising cycle than at any time in our history. In aggregate, Nexstar’s fourth quarter retransmission fee, mobile and e-Media and management fee revenue rose 47.7% to $15.4 million, and these higher margin revenue streams accounted for almost 16% of both 2010 fourth quarter and full year net revenue.

“Nexstar’s significant revenue growth and expense discipline drove fourth quarter BCF and adjusted EBITDA margins to record levels of 48.5% and 43.4%, respectively. Fourth quarter and full year free cash flow of $29.7 million and $59.7 million, respectively are reflective of the strength of our business model and should be considered in concert with our year-end diluted share count of 28.4 million shares.

“During the fourth quarter we repurchased or called for redemption approximately $16.9 million of our 11.375% Senior Discount Notes due 2013, which is the most expensive remaining piece of our capital structure, as well as approximately $1.7 million of the outstanding 7% Senior Subordinated notes due 2014 and $0.3 million of the outstanding 7.0% Senior Subordinated Payment in Kind (PIK) notes due 2014. This follows other debt reduction initiatives throughout the year including the elimination of all of the outstanding 13.5% Senior Subordinated PIK notes due 2014. In total, Nexstar reduced total debt, adjusted for outstanding redemptions, in 2010 by approximately $40.0 million from 2009 year-end levels and we will benefit from lower interest expense in 2011 as we intend to further address the balance sheet throughout the year.”

The consolidated total debt of Nexstar, its wholly owned subsidiaries, and Mission (collectively, the “Company”) at December 31, 2010 was $643.1 million and senior secured debt was $416.9 million. The Company’s total leverage ratio at December 31, 2010 was 5.65x compared to a total permitted leverage covenant of 8.0x. The Company’s first lien indebtedness at December 31, 2010 was 0.9x compared to the covenant requirement of 2.5x.