* Spanish-language broadcaster LBI Media (Liberman Broadcasting) reports Q4 and full-year 2009 results. Fourth quarter revenues were down 1% from the same period the previous year, while operating expenses were down 67.6% percent in Q4, to $22.8 million from $70.4 million a year ago, when it took an impairment charge of $45.1 million in Q4. Not considering that impairment charge, net operating expenses were down by 9.8%. The Q4 revenues both years came in at $26.1 million. LBI's EBITDA was up 5.6% to $6.4 million from $6 million for Q4 2008. Net income is reported at $200,000 for the final quarter of 2009. That's a major turnaround from a loss of $49.4 million a year earlier. For the full year, net revenues were down 11.5% to $102.9 million from $116.3 million, with radio down 9% percent – to $59.1 million from $65.3 million. Total operating expenses were up 15.7% to $206.3 million from $178.3 million, mostly due to higher impairment charges in 2009. Without the impairment charges, operating expenses would have fallen 7.9% to $79.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA in 2009 was down 19.8% to $34.6 million from $43.2 million. For the full year, LBI saw a net loss of $107.3 million, compared to $87.3 million for 2008, with the added impairment charges partly offset by a $13.1 million increase in income tax benefit. Says LBI President & CEO Lenard Liberman, "While the current economic environment still presents challenges for the broadcasting industry, we are encouraged by the sequential improvement we have seen in our total revenues since the second quarter."

* Westwood One reports fourth quarter revenues are down 8.7%, loss narrows, new deal with lenders. Westwood One reports $92.3 million in revenues for the fourth quarter of 2009, down from $101.1 million in the same period the prior year. Network Radio revenue declined 5.3% to $52.1 million from $55 million. Metro Traffic revenue decreased 12.6% to $40.3 million from $46.1 million. Operating loss for the quarter grew to $9.6 million from an operating loss of $7.8 million in 2008. "Westwood One achieved significant milestones in its turnaround at the end of 2009 and is well positioned to participate in the economic recovery that has begun in the radio industry," says President Rod Sherwood. "In the fourth quarter of 2009, our revenue performance improved, and our earnings (on an Adjusted EBITDA basis) were up compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, reflecting both improvements in advertising spending, and the results of our cost reduction program." Westwood One reports a fourth quarter net loss of $3.8 million (19 cents per diluted share) as compared to a loss of $63.6 million ($11.75) in the year-ago period. For the full year, Westwood One's revenues were down 15.8% to $340.3 million from $404 million in 2008. The decrease, the company says, reflects the impact of the economic downturn on ad spending in both the network and local marketplaces. Network radio revenue was $183.8 million last year, down 12.3 percent from $209.5 million, while Metro Traffic was off 19.7 percent, to $156.5 million from $194.9 million, with the decrease due to radio advertising weakness and partly offset by higher Metro Television revenues. Westwood One's 2009 operating loss was $97.6 million, compared to an operating loss of $428 million in 2008. Adjusted EBITDA for the year was $10.4 million, down 73.5% from $39.2 million, mostly attributable to the revenue decline and partly offset by expense reductions. Westwood One's net loss for the year was $82.6 million ($9.45 per share), including a $50.5 million impairment charge, compared to a net loss in 2008 of $427.5 million ($878.73 per diluted share), including a $430.1 million impairment charge. The per-share amounts reflect the 200:1 reverse stock split.

Westwood One also says it has reached a new agreement with its lenders, modifying its debt covenants for 2010 and 2011, beginning with the first quarter of this year. The company says the new covenant levels "will provide us with a significant increase in our operational and financial flexibility and reduce financial risk. These amendments will allow us to continue to focus on our revenue initiatives and enacting our plans to continue investing in our infrastructure and the key drivers of our business on a broader basis."

* Radio One reports fourth quarter net revenue of $67.3 million, an 8.9% decline from $73.8 million in 2008. Station operating income (SOI) was down 16.2% to $26.3 million. The Urban radio company reports a net loss of $14.9 million (28 cents per share), as compared to a net loss of $6.3 million (7 cents) year-over-year. Also included in the Q4 2009 net loss was a non-cash impairment charge of $17 million. Says Radio One President & CEO Alfred Liggins, "Our fourth quarter again demonstrated the sequential improvement that we had hoped for in our core radio business. Adjusting for 2008 political activity, our fourth quarter core radio revenues were down 4.2%. Looking ahead to the first quarter, we are currently pacing up mid-single digits, with the recovery most apparent in our larger markets, where national business is performing strongly."

* Regent Communications reports fourth quarter revenues are down 10.1% to $21.3 million from $23.7million. Regent reports unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and for the full year. For Q4 2009, station operating expenses decreased 5.5% to $14.0 million in compared to $14.8 million year-to-year. Regent reports a net loss of $14.2 million for the quarter ($0.35 per share), compared with a reported net loss of $75.4 million ($1.93 per share) in the same period the prior year. For the full year, net broadcast revenues decreased 12.7% to $84.1 million compared to $96.3 million in 2008. For the year, station operating expenses decreased 6.7% to $57.3 million in 2009 from $61.4 million in 2008. Regent reports a net loss of $44.0 million for the year ($1.08 per share), compared to a reported net loss of $119.0 million ($3.06 per share) in 2008. Regent Communications and its subsidiaries are currently operating as debtors-in-possession under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and are subject to the supervision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the district of Delaware. The Company filed its First Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization and its First Amended Disclosure Statement with the Bankruptcy Court on March 22. A confirmation hearing on its reorganization plan is set for April 9.

* Clear Channel fourth quarter radio revenue declines 10% to $712 million from $788.8 million a year earlier. Parent CC Media Holdings reports consolidated revenue declined 6% overall, to $1.51 billion from $1.6 billion year-to-year. For the full year, overall revenues were down 17% to $5.6 billion, with radio also down 17% to $2.7 billion. Clear Channel says local radio revenues were down across markets and advertising categories "as a result of an overall weakness in advertising and the economy." The fourth quarter saw a slower decline than reported in the first three quarters of the year. President & CEO Mark Mays says, "We began to see encouraging trends in the global advertising environment during the fourth quarter, as our overall revenues demonstrated sequential improvement in the final three months of the year. During the past year, we have implemented a concerted plan to achieve significant cost efficiencies across our operations. We have also strengthened our management team and sales organization and made considerable progress in developing our content distribution and advertising capabilities. These efforts will continue in 2010 as we seek to maximize our performance. We have a world-leading platform in the out-of-home media market, which enables us to deliver what we believe is an exceptional value proposition to advertisers. As we drive revenue growth across our operations, we believe we will increasingly benefit from our improved operating leverage, resulting in increased returns for our shareholders." The full "CC Media Holdings Fourth Quarter 2009 Earnings Release" is available in PDF format...

* Fisher Communications reports radio revenues were down 8% to $6.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Overall revenues for the company declined 19% from the previous year's Q4 to $38.6 million. The company reports net income of $1.1 million in the quarter. For the full fiscal year, the Fisher reports consolidated revenue of $133.7 million, a 23% decrease from 2008. EBITDA declined $18.7 million, or 73%, to $6.9 million in 2009. The company reported a 2009 net loss of $9.3 million, compared to net income of $44.7 million in 2008. Fisher President & CEO Colleen Brown says, "While our 2009 financial results were severely impacted by the worst economy since World War II and extremely cautious advertising spending, I am very pleased with our stations' competitive ratings performance and our response to these economic challenges. In 2009, we aggressively managed our expenses while increasing total revenue share in our radio and TV markets; we expanded newsroom multiplatform synergies between our TV, radio and online businesses; and we launched new digital distribution platforms which allow us to better serve our neighborhoods." Looking ahead, Brown adds, "As we look ahead, we are encouraged by some of the trends we witnessed in the fourth quarter, including an improvement in our core, non-political television advertising. Fisher's automotive ad spending grew in the quarter for the first time since the recession began, and we are hopeful that this pace will gradually increase throughout the year."   More from Fisher Communications...

* Spanish Broadcasting System's fourth quarter net revenue was down 12% to $36.8 million from $40.9 million. The decline was mainly due to the company's radio division's decrease of 9% to $31.6 million from $34.9 million. Operating income was $10.8 million, more than double the $4.2 million for the previous year's fourth quarter. The SBS posts a loss of $10.3 million (14 cents per share), one third of the 2008 Q4 loss of $30.7 million (42 cents). "Our fourth quarter results reflect the positive impact of our disciplined approach to managing our costs during the global recession, as we generated significantly improved cash flows from our operations for the fourth consecutive quarter," says SBS Chairman & CEO Raul Alarcon. "As we seek to capitalize on the early stages of the rebound in the advertising market, we believe the operating efficiencies in our new broadcast model will become increasingly evident, even as we prudently invest in our content and sales resources." Alarcon says the future should be even brighter. "Looking ahead, our radio, TV and online brands continue to grow, as we cross-promote our multi-platform media assets with both our advertisers and consumers. As the nation's Hispanic population continues its rapid expansion, we believe we are well positioned to benefit given the strength of our diverse media platform and our leadership position in serving this increasingly influential and powerful audience."

* Beasley Broadcast Group reports fourth quarter revenue fell 14.1% to $26.2 million. The drop is blamed on lower ad revenue and the loss of political advertising. Net income increased from a loss of $36.5 million to a gain of $1.4 million — from a loss of $1.58 per share, to a gain of 6 cents diluted per share. The 2008 comparative figure includes a non-cash, pre-tax impairment charge of $62.5 million from impairment of FCC licenses and goodwill. For the full year, net revenue was down to $96.7 million from $121.4 million in 2008, but net income for the year was $3.4 million, compared to a 2008 net loss of $30.5 million. Says Beasley Chairman & CEO George Beasley in a news release, "Beasley's revenue comparisons improved in the second half of 2009 and when excluding political advertising in last year?s fourth quarter, 2009 fourth quarter same-station net revenue was down approximately 8%, the Company?s best comparison since early 2008. Key Beasley clusters in Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Augusta continued to show progress in the fourth quarter as revenue from these clusters was down low single digits. The Company also continued to drive strong interactive revenue growth with fourth quarter revenue from these sources rising approximately 16% from 2008 fourth quarter levels. Our focus on expense management enabled the Company to generate fourth quarter SOI growth in six of our eleven clusters. By managing the areas of our operating and financial structure that we can directly control Beasley Broadcast Group recorded bottom line profitability in every quarter of 2009. In addition, reflecting our focus on debt-reduction, total bank debt was $151.8 million at the end of 2009 down from $174.5 million at December 31, 2008. It is evident from the fourth quarter results that advertising activity in our markets is slowly picking up and as it does, Beasley Broadcast Group is well positioned to participate in the upturn on both the top and bottom line. Looking forward, we remain focused on maintaining a streamlined cost and operating structure to ensure that we participate in increases in radio advertising spending as they occur as well as expected higher levels of political spending and growth from our digital initiatives in 2010.?

* Saga Communications reports fourth quarter net operating revenue fell 8.9% to $31.8 million from $26.5 million. Free cash flow increased 11.8% to $6.6 million, while station operating expense fell 10.2% to $23.9 million. Saga reports a net loss of $7.4 million ($1.74 per share) as compared to a net loss of $74 million ($14.71) in the year-ago period. For the full year, net opearting revenue declined 13.7% to $120.8 million. Station operating expense was down 10.6% to $94.7 million. Saga reports a net loss of $2.6 million (61 cents per share) compared to a Q4 2008 net loss of $66.5 million ($14.05). Saga Communications President & CEO Ed Christian says that "all of the fundamentals are working for us." Christian's comments came during the Thursday (March 4) earnings conference call on the company's fourth quarter and full year financial results. He notes that the "fundamentals are working" as the company begins a new year after one that was very difficult for the entire industry. "What can I tell you about 2009, other than that I'm extremely grateful that it's over?" However, says the Saga CEO, "We did a very good job of operating our company and finding our voice and finding our way." Christian says revenues turned positive in December, and that advertising clients now appear to be more optimistic. "I can't say that we did as great on the revenue side, but I think we certainly were marching in lockstep with the industry, so we weren't out of favor or running worse than what it was." Christian says he's amazed by the "commonality" across companies and across market sizes. "It is a trend that permeates all in terms of the ebb and flow of revenue."

* Entravision Communications reports net revenue declined 9% in the fourth quarter to $48 million. That compares to $52.7 million for the year ago period. Operating loss was $39.4 million, compared to a loss of $163.5 million the previous year. Radio was down 19% to 15.6 million from $19.3 million. The company posted a net loss $51.9 million. That's 61% better than the loss of $134.1 million reported for the year-ago period. For the full year, net revenues were down 19% to $189.2 million from $232.3 million in 2008. Operating expenses were reduced by 15% to $122.2 million from $144.5 million. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA fell 25% for the year, to $55.3 million from $74.1 million. "During 2009, we were confronted with a significant advertising downturn, both in television and radio, primarily as a result of the global financial crisis and recession," says Chairman & CEO Walter Ulloa. "Nevertheless, our audience shares remained strong in the nation's most densely populated Hispanic markets." Entravision is a Spanish-language broadcaster. "Although EBITDA declined for the full year 2009 compared to 2008, our focus on managing costs and maximizing cash flows were factors in increasing our EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2009. Additionally, we anticipate that retransmission consent revenue will continue to be a growing source of revenue, along with advertising revenue from World Cup and political activity during 2010."

* Cumulus Media reports fourth quarter revenues were down 7.3%, while revenues were down 17.8% for the full year of 2009. Cumulus Media Wednesday (March 3) reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009 and for the full year. Net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2009 decreased $5.5 million to $69.6 million from $75.1 million in 2008, primarily due to a $3.1 million decrease in political revenue and the impact the recent economic recession has had across the company's entire station platform and industry at large. "We believe that advertising revenue in our markets will not have any significant growth at least through the first quarter of 2010, with modest growth in certain categories throughout the remainder of 2010," says Cumulus. "We believe two areas of potentially strong growth for radio advertising in 2010 could be cyclical political advertising and automotive advertising fueled by a general recovery in that sector. However, despite recent indications of a return to a more normalized marketplace, specific projections remain extremely difficult to provide as traditional advertising buying patterns have been noticeably disrupted as a result of the recent economic recession." Station operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2009 decreased $4.3 million, or 8.9%, to $44.0 million from $48.3 million in 2008 primarily due to our cost containment initiatives implemented in previous quarters, such as employee reductions, continued scrutiny of operating expenses, and lower variable sales commissions paid. The Atlanta-based company says, "During the fourth quarter of 2009 we recorded an impairment charge of $1.9 million in connection with our review of certain broadcast licenses and goodwill. The impairment charge was primarily due to a decrease in advertising revenue growth projections for certain markets." Station operating income for the fourth quarter of 2009 decreased $1.2 million or 4.3%, to $25.6 million from $26.8 million in 2008. Net revenues for the year decreased $55.5 million, or 17.8%, to $256.0 million compared to $311.5 million for the full year, primarily due to a $5.0 million decrease in political revenue and the impact the recent economic recession has had across our entire station platform. Station operating expenses for the year decreased $37.5 million, or 18.5%, to $165.7 million from $203.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, primarily due to our cost containment initiatives, such as employee reductions, a mandatory one-week furlough, continued scrutiny of operating and corporate expenses, and lower variable sales commissions paid. Cumulus also announces effective March 3, 2010, the appointment of Joseph P. Hannan as SVP, Treasurer & Chief Financial Officer. He served as Interim CFO since he was appointed July 1, 2009.   More from Cumulus...

* Salem Communications President & CEO Edward Atsinger says "We generally feel good about our prospects." The positive outlook comes as Salem holds its first earnings conference call in a year Wednesday (March 3). "Our performance is stabilizing as we continue to see smaller monthly revenue declines ... We are optimistic about 2010." Revenue declines of 3% for January and 2% in February fueled the optimism for this year. During the call, Atsinger noted there's been a lot of "activity" affecting the broadcaster. "To say the least, 2009 was a challenging year for the industry, but Salem managed to accomplish quite a bit." He noted that Salem did better than the industry in general with his company's revenues falling 10%, while the industry's revenues overall were off by 18%. Atsinger cited the RAB's report for 2009 for the industry-wide results. Atsinger credits Salem's stable block programming business, which accounts for about 35% of its revenues. He also notes that his company receives about 14% percent of its revenues from online and other non-broadcast sources. Among positive changes, Atsinger points to the previously reported management changes that put Joe Davis and other executive into new posts, and the addition of a live and local show hosted by Curtis Sliwa. whom he called an on Salem's "The Apple" WNYM, New York. Says Atsinger of Sliwa, an "icon in New York City," Salem is "pleased" to have "Sliwa on our team." He added there are already signs of increased ratings and revenue from the show. The Salem chief also talked about Salem's debt restructuring late last year, which eliminated the pressure of more than $300 million in debt originally due this year. Atsinger says the restructuring allows Salem to focus "most of our energies on where they ought to be." That he says is "namely running our businesses and systematically deleveraging our balance sheet." Atsinger also had something to say about the recent $2 million purchase of conservative blog HotAir.com. "It was a good acquisition for us." Says Atsinger, "We are encouraged by the prospect" of combining HotAir with Salem's news and commentary site Townhall.com.

Salem Communications reports a fourth quarter revenue decline of 7.9% to $50.8 million from $55.2 million. Operating income was $10.6 million as compared to an operating loss of $41.1 million. Salem reports a net loss of $1.6 million (7 cents loss per share) as compared to $30.6 million ($1.29 net loss) for the same period a year earlier. Salem's broadcast segment saw broadcast revenue decrease 8.8% to $43.3 million from $47.5 million. Station operating income decreased 6.6% to $17.1 million from $18.3 million. Same station broadcast revenue was down 8.9% to $42.9 million rom $47.1 million; same station SOI dropped 7% to $17 million from $18.3 million.

* Citadel Broadcasting reports a 9.9% drop in net revenue for the fourth quarter to $192.9 million. That's down from $214.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2008. Citadel says that was due in part to the end of some network programs and the lack of political revenue in Q4 2009. Excluding the discontinued programs, revenues would have been down about 7.4%. Radio station revenues were down 5.1% to $161.2 million from $169.8 million, most of which was due to the lack of political advertising. Citadel says its stations in larger markets generally did better than its medium- and small-market outlets. Citadel's radio network brought in $32.5 million in the fourth quarter, down from $46.4 million. Citadel reports segment operating income of $65.4 million, a decline of 2.8% from $67.3 million, all of which was due to the network decline. Operating income for the quarter was $50.5 million, compared to an operating loss of $787.3 million in the year ago period. That, says Citadel, included an $836.5 million impairment charge. Excluding the charge, operating income was $50.5 million compared to the $49.2 million in 2008, an increase of 2.6%. Says Chairman & CEO Farid Suleman, "The current economic environment for our industry combined with the company's bankruptcy filing made for a difficult fourth quarter. However, our focus on expense reductions enabled the company to generate segment operating income of over $65 million or a decline of less than 3% when compared to the fourth quarter of 2008. In spite of the bankruptcy filing, the company has continued to make all of the interest payments required under its senior debt and had $57.4 million in cash as of December 31. The company did not need to secure debtor in possession financing." For the full year, Citadel's net revenues were $723.6 million, a 16.2% decline from $863.1 million in 2008. The company reports an operating loss of $841 million, compared to a loss of $1 billion, with segment operating income at $218.5 million, down about 24.6% from $289.9 million. Radio station revenues were $604.1 million for the year, a drop of about 12.3% from $688.8 million. The network was off 31.6% to $123.8 million from $181.8 million.