Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript
Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript March 7, 2024
Saga Communications, Inc. beats earnings expectations. Reported EPS is $0.37, expectations were $0.31. SGA isn't one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here).
Operator: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Fourth Quarter and Year-End Earnings Release Conference Call. At this time, all participants have been placed on a listen-only mode. It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host, Chris Forgy. Sir, the floor is yours.
Christopher Forgy: Thank you, Matt. Have you ever considered a career in broadcasting industry? [Indiscernible] you started with this morning, so thanks very much for that, and thank you to everyone who have taken the time to join Saga's Q4 and year-end earnings call. We do appreciate your continued interest and participation in Saga Communications, a company that we believe is the best broadcast company on the planet. As usual, we have a lot to talk about today, a new variable dividend program, $40 million worth of dry powder on hand, and something else new and different in the broadcast sector these days, an accretive acquisition. Firstly, we are pleased to announce the addition of Lafayette, Indiana Cluster to the Saga family.
By way of Neuhoff Media and Lafayette is expected to close in mid-May of quarter two of this year. Lafayette is home to Purdue University, Sam Bush, and now the Saga Communications. Lafayette folds beautifully into Saga's roster of markets and is consistent with our target market acquisition strategy. And as a market, frankly, that we have covered for a number of years, we are acquiring an entity with great brands and a talented group of passionate broadcasters who are frankly delighted to get started. And once Sagafied, Lafayette has the potential for growth in several verticals, including local, digital and e-commerce. We previously forecasted a 16 market launch of our new online news service. This was to be completed by the end of 2024. As of today, I'm pleased to announce that we have already generated over $1 million in pre-booked revenue for 2024, and the year-end time line has been accelerated to have not 16, but 18 markets online by the end of – not the end of the year, but by the end of quarter two.
Also, in previous earnings calls, we have reported the intensity with which we utilize audio spec spot creative to present ideas to customers to use as on our messaging. In 2021, we produced 21,000 spec spots in the company. In 2022, that number rose to 25,000. And again, I'm pleased to announce that in 2023, we have produced 25,500 spec spots for our customers in our marketplaces. The activity level on our Saga markets is at an all-time high, yet we really never – our appetite is really never – for success is really never satisfied. Are we experiencing the same countervailing forces you frequently hear about on other earnings calls? Absolutely, you bet we are. Inflation, interest rates, political upheaval and general economic headwinds.
Oh, yes, I almost forgot this one. Business booking later and later in the year. You probably heard that one a number of times on these – on the calls you have been on. The truth is that we really don't or can't control any of these things. Can we? We have a picture that hangs on the office of every one of our market managers, walls that reads. We cannot direct the wind, we can only adjust the sales, which is exactly what we set out to do 13 months ago. Adjust the sales. This was done to enable us to navigate an angry economic waters. In fact, we chronicled all that we have implemented in the last 13 months, and identified 37 different data points. Now this isn't like 37 points of light that you may have heard of back in the '80s and '90s, this is 37 different data points that exist in Saga today that did not exist 13 months ago.
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