Nexstar Media Tops Q4 Consensus; Expects To Gain From Political Advertising

Nexstar Media Group Inc NXST reported a fourth-quarter FY21 net revenue decline of 9.5% year-on-year to $1.25 billion, beating the consensus of $1.23 billion.
Revenues from Total Television Advertising declined 33.6% Y/Y to $512.8 million, comprising Core Advertising revenue that climbed 4.3% Y/Y to $493.9 million, partially offset by a 93.7% decline in Political Advertising revenue to $18.9 million.
Distribution revenue rose 16.6% Y/Y to $615.9 million. Digital revenue expanded 56.3% Y/Y to $101.7 million.
Margin: The adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 790 bps to 39.8%.
EPS of $6.19 beat the consensus of $4.96.
Nexstar Media generated $326.95 million in free cash flow.
Dividend: In January, the board increased the quarterly cash dividend by 29% to $0.90 per share.
Perry A. Sook, Chairman and CEO, said: "While early, this year is off to an excellent start, and we expect 2022 operating results will benefit from strong mid-term election-year political advertising. Looking ahead, 2023 will benefit from the renegotiation of our distribution contracts representing more than half of our subscribers during 2022, and 2024 will benefit from presidential election-year political advertising and additional distribution contract renewals."
Outlook: Nexstar sees a Pro-forma average annual free cash flow of $1.4 billion for the 2022/2023 cycle.
Price Action: NXST shares traded lower by 1.24% at $173.00 in pre-market on the last check Tuesday.

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