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Operator
Good afternoon and welcome to the EntraVision first quarter 2023 earnings conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. As of today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Kimberly Esterkin with Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Kimberly Esterkin
Thank you, Operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to EdProvision's first quarter 2023 earnings conference call. Joining me today are Chris Young, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and Jeffrey Lieberman, President and Chief Operating Officer. Before we begin, I must inform you that this conference call will contain forward-looking statements. that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ. Please refer to Entrevision's SEC filings for a list of risks and uncertainties that could impact actual results. This call is the property of Entrevision Communications Corporation. Any redistribution, retransmission, or rebroadcast of this call in any form without the express written consent of Entrevision Communications Corporation is strictly prohibited. Also, this call will include non-GAAP financial measures. The company has provided a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most comparable GAAP measures in today's press release. The press release is available on the company's website and was filed with the SEC on Form 8K. I will now turn the call over to Chris Young.
Chris Young
Thank you, Kimberly, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate you joining our first quarter 2023 earnings call. In the first three months of the year, InterVision saw the continued strength of our digital businesses combined with the resiliency of our TV and audio segments. Revenues for the quarter totaled $239 million, an increase of 21% year-over-year, and ahead of our previously disclosed pacings of plus 16% for our consolidated business. This performance is particularly impressive given the current difficult macroeconomic conditions along with the anticipated year-over-year headwinds from decreased political spend in our broadcast business. These results are also a strong testament to our ability to evolve our business and adapt to the rapidly evolving technology, media, and entertainment industries. I want to thank our entire team at Entrevision for your hard work this past quarter in making this growth possible. For the quarter, digital comprised 82% of total revenue and was up 28% as compared to the prior year period. TV accounted for 13% of revenue and declined 2% year-over-year, while audio made up the remaining 5% of revenue and declined 3% year-over-year. As Jeff will speak about shortly, both the TV and audio segments saw weaknesses on the national front as advertisers became more cautious with spending, particularly in light of the recent regional banking crisis. That said, our local TV and audio businesses remained fairly resilient. even without the benefit of political advertising during the quarter. Consolidated EBITDA for the quarter totaled $13 million, a decrease of 28% year-over-year. This decline in our consolidated EBITDA is largely the result of both non-returning political revenue at our broadcasting business, coupled with increased operating and corporate expenses, which I will cover in more detail later on the call. In addition, during the quarter, we entered into a new $275 million credit facility, extending the maturity of our debt to March 2028 while increasing the flexibility of our balance sheet. We remained well capitalized, and with this new facility, combined with our free cash flow generation, we continue to have significant dry powder to be opportunistic on the M&A side. Speaking of free cash flow, during the first quarter, free cash flow totaled $3.9 million, or a conversion rate of 30% of consolidated EBITDA. Also, the company's board of directors approved a $0.05 dividend, which is in line with our pre-pandemic levels. Let's begin our discussion with our largest revenue segment, digital, which comprised 82% of first quarter revenues. Digital revenue was $196.5 million for the first quarter, improving 28% year-over-year. Entrevision provides a full suite of digital marketing services in 40 countries, including traditional brand awareness solutions, along with transactional and performance-driven services. In the U.S., our digital solutions include digital audio, lead generation, over-the-top digital video solutions, and branded content production capabilities that complement our existing TV and audio offerings with result-driven services for local clients. Outside the U.S., Entrevision's client-centric philosophy, extensive audience reach, and superior campaign performance technology generated strong results for our clients. We partner with premier global marketing platforms, including Meta, Spotify, TikTok, and Twitter, as well as providing branding services and performance solutions for more than 4,000 clients in emerging high-growth economies. These platforms have reported layoffs in the U.S., but we continue to add sellers as needed, pushing forward our growth path in new markets across the globe. Latin America and Asia in particular led the revenue growth for the quarter. In addition, we also saw our mobile user acquisition business grow 40% due to our industry-focused approach, client retention strategies, and best-in-class technology. In terms of regions that contributed to digital revenue growth, our Latin American business unit improved 15% year-over-year, largely driven by our exclusive commercial representation partnership with Meta, and our Asia business revenue grew 35% year-over-year, mainly driven by success with TikTok, along with strong performance of our mobile user acquisition operation. We are now serving 11 countries in Southeast Asia, including our latest addition in Mongolia. We also see growing demand for our digital advertising services in Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Our mobile user acquisition programmatic demand-side platform, Smatics, declined 11% versus the prior year period, mainly due to decreased revenue in the crypto and fintech verticals. However, we remain optimistic as the other industry verticals, such as gaming and online gambling, are ramping up their ad spend. Also following the end of the quarter, in April, IntraVision converted an outstanding loan and acquired a majority stake in AdsMirai, a leading social commerce and e-commerce marketing service provider, which is headquartered in Barcelona. For the quarter, on a pro forma basis, AdsMirai revenues improved 94% compared to the prior year period. This investment in AdsMirai strengthens Entrevision's client-centric solutions portfolio. We believe that commerce and retail-related marketing will play a critical role in the future of advertising. AdsMirai optimizes digital catalogs for online retailers in the fashion, wellness, beauty, and education verticals. Moreover, AdsMirai provides technology solutions that empower its clients to connect to its payment, accounting, logistics, and most importantly, social commerce strategies by leveraging a SaaS model. Brands can optimize campaign investment while also having access to real-time campaign performance data. We look forward to scaling AdsMirai's operations throughout our regions over time. I'll now turn the call over to Jeff Lieberman to speak further to our TV and audio business segments. Jeff?
Kimberly
Thanks, Chris. Let's turn to our television segment, which comprised 13% of the revenue for the first quarter. Television revenue was $30.3 million in Q1, down 2% compared to the prior year period, largely due to national advertising revenue declines and the declines in political revenue as compared to the prior year's quarter. Core television revenue increased 2%, national core revenue decreased 8%, and local core revenue increased 2% year over year. Retransmission revenue for the quarter totaled $9.6 million, which was up 5% year over year. Operating cash flow margins for the TV segment was 34% for the quarter. Following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, we saw a number of national television advertisers pause their marketing efforts. Although this slowdown for our national television business was not as drastic as the effect of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the softness in national advertising has continued into April. With that said, we expect to see improvement in the second half of the year. With an open Senate seat in California, we anticipate this race to heat up in the late summer or early fall. We should see a boost in political revenue, helping improve national TV advertising dollars for the year. Lastly, our audio segment comprised the remaining 5% of first quarter consolidated revenue. Audio revenue totaled approximately 12.2 million for the first quarter and decreased 3% year over year. Again, largely driven by the lack of political ad revenue as compared to the prior year's first quarter. Local audio was down 1% for the quarter, while national audio declined 6%. On a core basis, excluding political, Total local and national revenue were all down 1%. Overall, Spanish language radio has been performing better than the general market. And while our national clients are being very cautious based on the current economic conditions, we expect increased political spending in key states such as California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, which will help support our national sales, particularly in the back half of the year. I will now turn the call back to Chris to discuss the first quarter financials and second quarter pacing in further detail. Chris?
Chris Young
Thanks, Jeff. As we already covered the segment's revenues, let's jump to operating expenses for the quarter. Operating expenses in the first quarter of 2023 totaled $52.6 million, up 20% from $43.9 million in the prior year period. This increase was primarily due to several factors. First, we had expenses attributable to our recent Esmeralda and Jacob digital investments, which did not contribute to our financial results in the comparable period last year. Second, our rent expense was significantly higher than the prior year, as we are currently in a temporary office space until we combine our offices here in Santa Monica. Third, there was an increase in non-cash stock-based compensation as a result of the annual RSU grant being done in Q1 this year compared to Q4 in the prior year. Fourth, variable expenses were up associated with the increase in digital advertising revenue. Excluding the expenses related to AdsMirai and Jacket Digital, expenses were up approximately 13%. Corporate expenses increased by 20% to total $10.5 million for the quarter, compared to $8.7 million in the same quarter of last year, which is mainly a result of non-cash stock-based compensation given the annual RSU grant timing I just mentioned, an increase in professional service fees, and an increase in audit fees. Consolidated EBITDA totaled $13 million for the first quarter, down 28% from $18.1 million in the prior year period. Free cash flow as defined in our earnings release was $3.9 million in the quarter, or a conversion rate of 30% of consolidated EBITDA compared to $18.1 million in the first quarter in the prior year. Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter 2023 were $0.02, consistent with the same period last year. Cash paid for income taxes was $100,000 for the first quarter. Net cash interest expense was $3 million for the first quarter, compared to $1.2 million in the same quarter of last year. Cash capital expenditures for Q1 totaled $6.8 million. The increase compared to the same quarter of last year is mainly due to the build-out of our new headquarters in Santa Monica, which is expected to be complete by the end of the second quarter, as we combine our two Los Angeles area offices into one. we expect cash capex to total roughly 15 million for the full year. Turning to our balance sheet, cash and marketable securities as of March 31st, 2023, totaled 179.8 million. Total debt was 212.8 million. Our total leverage as defined in our credit agreement was 1.7 times as of the end of the first quarter. Net of total cash and marketable securities, our total net leverage was 0.3 times. Turning to our pacings for the second quarter of 2023. As of today, revenue from our digital segment is pacing plus 25% over the prior year. Factoring in our Atmarai and Jacob digital revenue generated in Q2 of 2022, our digital segment on a pro forma basis is pacing plus 14%. Our TV segment is pacing minus 9.5% over the prior year period, with core TV advertising, excluding political book thus far in the prior year quarter, pacing at a minus 1%. Lastly, our audio segment is pacing a minus 5% over the prior year period, with core audio, excluding political book thus far in the prior year quarter, pacing at a minus 1% as well. All in, our total revenue compared to last year is pacing at a plus 18%. On a pro forma basis, our total revenue is currently pacing at a plus 10%. To close out our prepared remarks, while we remain cognizant of the current macroeconomic environment, our double-digit top-line growth in the first quarter coupled with a solid balance sheet and strong free cash flow position us well for the remainder of 2023. We continue to seek out opportunities, including acquisitions, that will further enhance our offerings and strengthen our ability to compete in the international markets. Latin America and Asia are both proving to be very strong contenders for continued growth. Africa is showing solid pockets and strength, and our mobile acquisition business continues to outperform. Television and audio remain resilient, and while national advertising will continue to be a headwind in this difficult economy, Entrevision is in a great position to benefit from increased political spend in the second half of the year. Thank you for your time this afternoon. We appreciate your continued support of Venture Vision and will now open up the call to questions. Operator?
Operator
We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on a telephone keypad. If using a speakerphone, please pick up your hands up before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two.
Anthony
At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster.
Operator
Our first question will come from Michael Kupinski with Noble Capital Markets. You may now go ahead.
Michael Kupinski
Thank you for taking the questions. First of all, congratulations on a solid quarter. A couple of questions. It seems like your Latin American digital business was better than expected. Was there anything special about the quarter with Facebook there?
Chris Young
It was just that, Michael. It was Facebook. Facebook is on a fun turnaround, particularly what we're seeing in Latin America, and we were really pleased about it. So, you know, you've seen Q3 for Latin America. Latin, we did a plus 10% year over year. Q4 was a plus 7%. We were a little worried about it getting into Q1. They turned out a plus 15%, and Q2 is looking, you know, to pace along the same line. So Facebook is back. They've tweaked the model. They've enhanced the technology, and they've refocused their efforts, and we've been pleased to see the growth come back.
Michael Kupinski
That's terrific. And then if we could just turn to semantics, because that was surprisingly weak, as you mentioned, coming off of a very strong 2022 performance. You indicated that you think that's going to turn. So is that more of a second-half story, or do you think it's going to show some better revenue trajectory in the second quarter? Can you just kind of give us some color there?
Chris Young
Yeah, Smatix had some tough comps. They did a ton of business with the crypto space and the fintech space in the first quarter and second quarter of last year. Obviously, those two verticals have been really hit by the macro turndown. So we're expecting once we cycle through those tougher comps, that second half of the year will be a better story for Smatix.
Michael Kupinski
Gotcha. And then just turning to radio and TV, a lot of other broadcasters have indicated that auto's turned how big of a category i know i've asked this in the last quarter because uh we we kind of you know i think hit a peak a couple years ago in terms of auto as a category and it kind of fell off dramatically where where are you at now with auto and are you trending positive in audio auto at this point yeah yeah michael um on the tv side we are trending positive with auto um we saw 12 and a half percent increase in first quarter we also saw other categories um
Kimberly
improve in the first quarter also. Retail was up 4%, healthcare up 33%, and finance was up 7%.
Michael Kupinski
Gotcha. And then you talked briefly about the M&A environment. I was wondering if you could just add some color on what you see out there, multiples, whatever, in terms of just the overall environment and what you might be looking at.
Chris Young
Yeah, there are deals out there that we're working on. I'd say a handful, mostly digital. there is some stuff in broadcast out there. Multiples haven't really come down. There's still a disconnect between what the sellers are looking for and what the buyers are looking to pay for. So we'll see how that progresses during the year if the macro contends to be on a downward trend. But there are definitely deals out there that we're working on.
Michael Kupinski
And Chris, can you just talk a little briefly about your leverage? Obviously, you have one of the best balance sheets in the industry. Do you have any thoughts in terms of if you are looking at M&A, what your thoughts process might be in terms of leverage?
Chris Young
Sure. If it's a really compelling opportunity, you know, I think the three times kind of handle is what we're looking at to max out at. So being mindful of the cash balance that we have, we do have an undrawn, a relatively undrawn revolver that we can access, but we don't want to take our leverage above three times, not in this macro. And again, that has to be a pretty compelling opportunity. I think for now, we're looking to fund acquisitions through the cash balance that we have.
Michael Kupinski
Gotcha. I'll let others ask questions. Thank you so much.
Anthony
Thank you, Michael. Our next question will come from James Dix with Industry Capital Research.
Operator
You may now go ahead.
Carl
Hey, guys. It looks to me, revenue first, it looks like it was a little stronger than I was looking for in the first quarter. It looks like your pacings are in line to maybe a little better. How's your sense of how the year is unfolding versus what your expectations were thus far across the three segments?
Chris Young
Well, you know, I'll answer that first with we were feeling really good about this year until the week after Silicon Valley Bank went down. And that subsequent week, that was the first week we've experienced cancellations where we actually went backwards with the pace. And ever since then, it's gotten gradually better. But that really freaked the market out, particularly on the national front. So we've been kind of taking things one week at a time ever since. I'm still an optimist. I still think the balance of this year is going to play out like we planned it. But, again, we have to see that play through. Latin America is doing really well. Asia, for us, is doing really well. Broadcast has got the political overhang that's not returning this year. So we'll just have to contend through that. And then national has been choppy. And as national goes, so does the broadcasting business. So we're just going to have to see how that plays out.
Kimberly
Jeff, do you have anything to add? The only thing I'll add to that, James, is that I'm really proud of our local sales teams on both TV and radio. They have been able to get to their numbers in the first quarter, and we do think that since that's the side of the business that we control more of, that that will be strong throughout the year.
Chris Young
Yeah, our local sales force has been amazing through this whole process. They've been really resilient and very focused, led by Carl and his team.
Carl
Okay, great. Just one follow-up. Jeff, you mentioned – On the audio side, the Spanish is outperforming the market. Any sense of how the TV advertising is doing versus the market? I mean, my assumption is the financial related pullback hit the general market as much, if not more, as Spanish. But just any color there might be helpful.
Kimberly
Yeah, James, there too. I would say when we look at local, we are ahead of the marketplace. When we look at national, I think we're probably a little bit behind the marketplaces. Because, unfortunately, usually on advertisers, when they pull back, they pull back their multicultural advertising first before they go to the general market.
Carl
Oh, okay. Great.
Chris Young
And I think to add to that, I thought I saw Paramount's TV numbers where they were, give or take, a minus eight for the quarter, and certainly that wasn't what our TV did. So, you know, if that's one bullet point for the comparison between German Mark and Spanish, it'll be it.
Carl
Okay. And then in terms of, I saw there was a change, I think, in the contingent consideration during the quarter, which affected the cash flow reconciliation. Chris, if you could just give an update. It looks like the non-controlling interest is around $14 million at the end of the quarter. What's the contingent consideration?
Chris Young
Well, the contingent consideration ended up being adjusted to the upside, and that's because the performance of a couple of our digital platforms underperformed what the original expectation was. So as that happens, that adjustment gets made to that line item, which basically means we have to pay the seller less once the payment comes due. But there's no one silver bullet answer to that. It was a handful of platforms that underperformed relative to budget. And that's a test that's done quarterly, right? So that will ebb and flow every quarter as we go.
Carl
Okay. So just in terms of my balance sheet, I should be reducing what you had for that by the amount that you showed in your income statement. That's exactly right, James. From the end of last year. Okay, great. And I guess Yeah, I guess the only other thing was just the outlook at Smatics. I know Michael asked about that a little bit, but any particular things you're looking for in terms of that business or just kind of what I consider the legacy business at all going forward, or is it just largely a matter of just waiting out the comps on crypto and fintech?
Chris Young
Well, they're focused on the gaming industry. They're hyper-focused on the gaming industry, and that's starting to really come online for them. But they do have those tough comps, and I think those tough comps are going to outweigh what they're doing with that gaming vertical until the second half of the year.
Carl
Okay.
Anthony
Great. Thanks very much. Thanks, James. Appreciate it. Again, if you have a question, please press star then 1.
Operator
Our next question will come from Edward Riley with EF Hutton. You may now go ahead.
Edward Riley
Hi, thanks for taking my question. Most of my questions are covered, so I just have one. On the move to the Santa Monica office, just wondering how much maybe you're expecting to save from the move versus the temporary offices you're in right now.
Chris Young
Oh, versus the temporary offices. So the problem with that move that's come up is that move is now six months behind schedule, in part due to COVID-related delays in getting permits and whatnot. So that line item alone is going to cost us probably an incremental million and a half in rent for the first half of the year. That was unforeseen. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. We're just cycling through that. Once we get everyone back under the same roof, we're looking to save at least, call it a half a million bucks a year in rent expense. Plus, you know, it's the right thing to do to bring everybody under the same roof. We're both here in L.A. We've been here in L.A. for decades, and we just felt it was time to bring everybody together here in L.A. So it's the right move from an operations standpoint. It's the right move from a financial standpoint.
Anthony
Yep. Makes sense. Thanks. Got it. Thank you. Our next question will be a follow-up from Michael Kopinski with Noble Capital Markets.
Michael Kupinski
You may now go ahead. Thank you. Just a quick question. Chris, I know that you entered into some developmental markets with your digital agency business, and I was just wondering if you can give us some thoughts about the profitability of those that you entered and maybe the growth trajectory of what you're seeing. And I know that incrementally it's not as big as maybe, you know, your Latin American business, but maybe just kind of give us some thoughts about how those business and the trajectory of revenue and cashflow are looking for those developmental markets you entered.
Chris Young
Sure. So Mongolia is going really well so far. It's ramping up. It's tough to put a number on it on an annualized basis, but I'll try. Maybe a three to $4 million market by the end of the day at the end of year one. But we're really pleased with it. Ghana is the other market. It's a bit more challenging to operate in Ghana. It's probably a $2.5 to $3 million market as it stands today. But we continue to work on that angle. The good news is these are really test markets for Meta for us. And as we execute in those markets, you know, the hope for us is to obviously do more with Meta going down the road. And as we execute in these markets, the expectation is that we'll be doing even more markets.
Michael Kupinski
And I know they're pretty lean in terms of the operations there. Are they already profitable? Are they close to being profitable at this point?
Chris Young
Mongolia is profitable, has been since day one. Ghana is not yet profitable, probably won't be profitable for a year, I'd say, in Ghana.
Anthony
Gotcha. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Our next question will come from David Marsh with Singular Research. You may now go ahead.
David Marsh
Hey, guys. Congrats on the quarter. Quickly, can you just talk about the acquisition landscape and what some of the types of things that you might be looking at and interested in at this point?
Chris Young
Sure. We're looking at digital deals, both domestic here in the U.S. and internationally. complementary to our existing digital platforms. And there's a couple of broadcast opportunities here in the U.S. that we're looking at. You know, kind of in line with our existing broadcasting footprint, Spanish language. And that's what we're looking at.
David Marsh
Specifically within the radio space, Chris, I just saw that there have been a couple of transactions recently. I know that the DC-based company acquired a couple of stations. Could you talk about valuations in that space that you're seeing and the relative attractiveness of those?
Chris Young
Valuations for radio? Yes. Oh, I'd say, you know, valuations for radio five to six times, you know, on a good day. And the hope is you have enough synergies to make that a three or four times deal once it's all said and done. But to be clear, there are a handful of deals, but they've been tiny, and it's hard to glean anything from any kind of valuation multiple with deals that size. They're just really small deals. There aren't a lot of buyers in the radio space right now, as you can imagine. Right.
David Marsh
Yeah, I guess my question in that area is, are you seeing – any potential like distressed sellers out there that might give you some opportunities to pick up some assets at fairly attractive valuations?
Chris Young
It is possible. And the short answer to that is yes. But look, the opportunity has to be really compelling for us to put more capital for radio. But yeah, there are a few sellers out there or at least a few potential sellers out there who've got balance sheets that are burdensome. And they're looking for relief. So you know what? We'll look at all the opportunities that are out there. But again, it's got to be really compelling for us to put more capital on the radio.
Anthony
Sure. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks. Appreciate it. Thank you. This concludes our question and answer session.
Operator
I would like to turn the conference back over to Chris Young for any closing remarks.
Chris Young
Thank you, Anthony. Thanks, everyone, for joining us today. We look forward to sharing with you our progress on our second quarter earnings call in August. I also hope to see some of you next week at the EF Hutton Conference in New York. Everyone be well, and we'll talk to you soon.
Anthony
Thank you. The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.
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