Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. Reports Results For The Third Quarter Of 2021

SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCO) (the “Company”) today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021.

“We delivered very strong results in the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter with continued momentum in our business,” said William Eccleshare, Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. “Advertisers are returning to launch new campaigns and rebuild brand awareness. This rebound, together with new advertisers discovering our medium for the first time, is driving growth in many of our markets ahead of 2019 revenue levels, in both our digital and traditional assets.

“We are at the forefront in driving innovation across the out-of-home industry. Through our concerted technology investment program, we have built a dynamic advertising platform which is broadening the pool of advertisers using our medium. By integrating data analytics and programmatic capabilities, we are leveraging the scale, reach and flexibility of our assets to deliver highly targeted, measurable campaigns that are simpler to buy. Our recent successes include an award-winning campaign for best use of programmatic with digital out-of-home. Using our expanded tools, we leveraged targeted data that locked in on key consumers in 15 major markets generating a substantial lift in KPIs for the customer.

“Looking ahead, we continue to see a significant increase in bookings across the company, with many of our markets exceeding 2019 levels, particularly those in the U.S. We are demonstrating the resilience of our business and its ability to rapidly bounce back after the disruption caused by the pandemic. We remain well-positioned to accelerate our growth, while benefiting from the steps we have taken to reduce costs and improve efficiencies during the pandemic.

“As we focus on delivering profitable growth, we also remain committed to reducing our overall indebtedness, strengthening our balance sheet and benefiting from the operating leverage in our model. As our markets continue to show strong recovery, we will continue to evaluate disposition opportunities in line with our strategic goals and in the best interests of our shareholders.”

Financial Highlights:

Financial highlights for the third quarter of 2021, as compared to the same period of 2020:

Americas:

• Revenue up 42.6% to $319.0 million
• Segment Adjusted EBITDA¹ up 96.7% to $139.1 million

Europe:

• Revenue up 21.0% to $262.6 million. Revenue, excluding movements in foreign exchange rates (“FX”), up 18.2% to $256.4 million
• Segment Adjusted EBITDA¹ was $31.3 million compared to $(8.1) million. Segment Adjusted EBITDA¹, excluding movements in FX, was $30.0 million compared to $(8.1) million.

Third Quarter Activity:

During the third quarter of 2021, we saw positive trends in revenue for each of our segments as mobility levels continued to increase. Our quarterly results reflect both year-over-year and sequential quarter increases in revenue.

• In our Americas segment, we saw increases in revenue across all products, largely driven by strength in our billboard inventory and growth in revenue from digital displays. Additionally, during the third quarter we saw strength in airport display revenue as traveling began to rebound.
• In our Europe segment, the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions and increased vaccination levels have led to significant improvements in our revenue performance, particularly in the U.K. where revenues exceeded 2019 levels. Throughout Europe we saw strong performance in our street furniture and retail displays.

As of September 30, 2021, we had $600.0 million of cash on our balance sheet.

Current Activity and Guidance:

Currently, the gap to normalized quarterly booking activity is narrowing as most business segment activity is approaching historical seasonal levels. However, in certain instances we continue to experience customer advertising buying decisions later in the buying cycle, particularly in Europe.

Our expectations for the fourth quarter are as follows (revenue amounts exclude movements in FX¹ where applicable):

• Consolidated revenue between $715 million and $740 million vs. 2019 consolidated revenue of $717 million²
• Americas revenue between $360 million and $370 million vs. 2019 Americas revenue of $345 million
• Americas Segment Adjusted EBITDA margin percentage returning close to the 2019 fourth quarter level of 42.3%
• Europe revenue between $335 million and $350 million vs. 2019 Europe revenue of $349 million
• Year-to-date consolidated capital expenditures between $150 million and $160 million

On October 26, 2021, we repaid the $130.0 million outstanding balance under the Revolving Credit Facility using cash on hand, resulting in a corresponding increase in excess availability under such Revolving Credit Facility. We expect our liquidity balance, including unrestricted cash and availability under our credit facilities, to be between $525 million and $575 million as of December 31, 2021.

Expected results and estimates may be impacted by factors outside of the Company’s control, such as the continuing impacts from COVID-19, and actual results may be materially different from this guidance. See “Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements.”

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