OUTFRONT Media Reports First Quarter 2023 Results – PR Newswire

Revenues of $395.8 million

Operating income of $10.2 million

Net loss attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc. of $28.9 million

Adjusted OIBDA of $60.2 million

AFFO attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc. of $8.8 million

Quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, payable June 30, 2023

NEW YORK, May 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE: OUT) today reported results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023.

“We’re pleased to report first quarter revenues came in slightly ahead of our expectations, as our business pace improved through the quarter,” said Jeremy Male, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OUTFRONT Media. “Despite a somewhat uncertain macroeconomic environment we remain encouraged by what we see in the business and expect continued momentum as we move forward.”

First Quarter 2023 Results

Consolidated
Reported revenues of $395.8 million increased $22.3 million, or 6.0%, for the first quarter of 2023 as compared to the same prior-year period. Organic revenues of $392.9 million increased $20.5 million, or 5.5%.

Reported billboard revenues of $320.6 million increased $22.4 million, or 7.5%, due primarily to the impact of new and lost billboards in the period, including acquisitions, higher proceeds from condemnations, and an increase in average revenue per display (yield). Organic billboard revenues of $317.7 million increased $20.4 million, or 6.9%.

Reported transit and other revenues of $75.2 million decreased $0.1 million, or 0.1%, due primarily to a decrease in average revenue per display (yield), driven by weaker market conditions in national advertising, which primarily impacted advertising sales on certain above-ground advertising displays, and the impact of foreign currency exchange rates, partially offset by the impact of a new transit franchise contract. Organic transit and other revenues of $75.2 million increased $0.1 million, or 0.1%.

Total operating expenses of $235.5 million increased $22.7 million, or 10.7%, due primarily to an out-of-period adjustment of $5.2 million recorded in the first quarter of 2023 related to variable billboard property lease expenses, costs associated with higher billboard revenues and higher guaranteed minimum annual payments to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (the “MTA”). Selling, General and Administrative expenses (“SG&A”) of $107.9 million increased $9.5 million, or 9.7%, primarily due to higher professional fees, the impact of market fluctuations on an unfunded equity-linked retirement plan offered by the Company to certain employees, higher compensation-related expenses, including salaries and net of lower commissions, and increased post-COVID-19 pandemic travel resulting in higher travel and entertainment expenses.

Adjusted OIBDA of $60.2 million decreased $10.0 million, or 14.2%, compared to the same prior-year period.

Segment Results

U.S. Media
Reported revenues of $376.4 million increased $22.2 million, or 6.3%, due primarily to higher billboard revenues, partially offset by lower transit and other revenues. Billboard revenues increased 8.0% and Transit and other revenues decreased 0.7%. Organic revenues increased $19.3 million, or 5.4%.

Operating expenses increased $23.2 million, or 11.6%, due to higher billboard property lease expenses, including an out-of-period adjustment of $5.2 million recorded in the first quarter of 2023 related to variable billboard property lease expenses, higher minimum annual guarantee payments to the MTA, higher maintenance and utilities cost, higher compensation-related expenses, and increased activity resulting in higher materials cost, partially offset by lower posting and rotation costs. SG&A expenses increased $7.0 million, or 9.4%, due primarily to higher compensation-related expenses, higher professional fees, and increased post-COVID-19 pandemic travel resulting in higher travel and entertainment expenses.

Adjusted OIBDA of $72.1 million decreased $8.0 million, or 10.0%, compared to the same prior-year period.

Other
Reported revenues of $19.4 million increased $0.1 million, or 0.5%, due primarily to an increase in yield compared to the same prior-year period, as we have experienced an increase in demand for our services, offset by the impact of foreign currency exchange rates. Organic revenues increased $1.2 million, or 6.6%.

Operating expenses decreased $0.5 million, or 3.7%, due primarily to lower expenses in Canada. SG&A expenses increased $0.1 million, or 1.9%, driven primarily by higher expenses in Canada.

Adjusted OIBDA of $1.1 million increased $0.5 million, or 83.3%, compared to the same prior-year period.

Corporate
Corporate costs, excluding stock-based compensation, increased $2.5 million, or 23.8%, to $13.0 million, due primarily to the impact of market fluctuations on an equity-linked retirement plan offered by the Company to certain employees, higher compensation-related expenses, including salaries, and higher professional fees.

Interest Expense
Net interest expense in the first quarter of 2023 was $37.7 million, including amortization of deferred financing costs of $1.6 million, as compared to $30.7 million in the same prior-year period, including amortization of deferred financing costs of $1.6 million. The increase was due primarily to higher interest rates compared to the same prior-year period and a higher average debt balance. The weighted average cost of debt at March 31, 2023 was 5.4% and at March 31, 2022 was 4.3%.

Income Taxes
The provision for income taxes was $0.4 million compared to a benefit of $2.1 million in the same prior-year period due primarily to recording a valuation allowance against our U.S. taxable real estate investment trust subsidiary’s deferred tax assets. Cash paid for income taxes in the three months ended March 31, 2023 was $3.6 million.

Net Loss Attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc.
Net loss attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc. increased $28.8 million compared to same prior-year period. Diluted weighted average shares outstanding were 164.5 million for the first quarter of 2023 compared to 152.0 million for the same prior-year period. Net loss attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc. per common share for diluted earnings per weighted average share was $0.19 in the first quarter of 2023 compared to $0.04 in the same prior-year period.

FFO & AFFO
FFO attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc. decreased $24.7 million, or 59.1%, in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same prior-year period, due primarily to lower operating income, lower amortization of direct lease acquisition costs and a provision for income taxes compared to a benefit for income taxes in the three months ended March 31, 2022 partially offset by a higher amortization of real estate-related intangible assets. AFFO attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc. decreased $26.7 million, in the first quarter of 2023, or 75.2%, compared to the same prior-year period, due primarily to lower operating income and higher maintenance capital expenditures.

Cash Flow & Capital Expenditures
Net cash flow provided by operating activities decreased $11.1 million, or 54.1%, for the three months ended March 31, 2023, compared to the same prior-year period. Total capital expenditures increased $5.7 million, or 33.7%, to $22.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, compared to the same prior-year period.

Dividends
In the three months ended March 31, 2023, we paid cash dividends of $52.0 million, including $49.8 million on our common stock and vested restricted share units granted to employees and $2.2 million on our Series A Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock (the “Series A Preferred Stock”). We announced on May 3, 2023, that our board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend on our common stock of $0.30 per share payable on June 30, 2023, to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 2, 2023.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity
As of March 31, 2023, our liquidity position included unrestricted cash of $42.8 million, $493.6 million of availability under our $500.0 million revolving credit facility, net of $6.4 million of issued letters of credit against the letter of credit facility sublimit under the revolving credit facility, and $21.5 million of additional availability under our accounts receivable securitization facility. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, no shares of our common stock were sold under our at-the-market equity offering program, of which $232.5 million remains available. As of March 31, 2023, the maximum number of shares of our common stock that could be required to be issued on conversion of the outstanding shares of the Series A Preferred Stock was approximately 7.8 million shares. Total indebtedness as of March 31, 2023 was $2.8 billion, excluding $21.4 million of deferred financing costs, and includes a $600.0 million term loan, $2.1 billion of senior unsecured notes and $115.0 million of borrowings under our accounts receivable securitization facility.

Conference Call
We will host a conference call to discuss the results on May 3, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call numbers are 866-580-3963 (U.S. callers) and 786-697-3501 (International callers) and the passcode for both is Outfront. Live and replay versions of the conference call will be webcast in the Investor Relations section of our website, www.outfront.com.

Supplemental Materials
In addition to this press release, we have provided a supplemental investor presentation which can be viewed on our website, www.outfront.com.

About OUTFRONT Media Inc. 
OUTFRONT leverages the power of technology, location and creativity to connect brands with consumers outside of their homes through one of the largest and most diverse sets of billboard, transit, and mobile assets in North America. Through its technology platform, OUTFRONT will fundamentally change the ways advertisers engage audiences on-the-go.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to the results prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) provided throughout this document, this document and the accompanying tables include non-GAAP financial measures as described below. We calculate organic revenues as reported revenues excluding revenues associated with a significant acquisition and the impact of foreign currency exchange rates (“non-organic revenues”). We provide organic revenues to understand the underlying growth rate of revenue excluding the impact of non-organic revenue items. Our management believes organic revenues are useful to users of our financial data because it enables them to better understand the level of growth of our business period to period.  We calculate and define “Adjusted OIBDA” as operating income (loss) before depreciation, amortization, net (gain) loss on dispositions, and stock-based compensation. We calculate Adjusted OIBDA margin by dividing Adjusted OIBDA by total revenues. Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted OIBDA margin are among the primary measures we use for managing our business, evaluating our operating performance and planning and forecasting future periods, as each is an important indicator of our operational strength and business performance. Our management believes users of our financial data are best served if the information that is made available to them allows them to align their analysis and evaluation of our operating results along the same lines that our management uses in managing, planning and executing our business strategy. Our management also believes that the presentations of Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted OIBDA margin, as supplemental measures, are useful in evaluating our business because eliminating certain non-comparable items highlight operational trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on GAAP financial measures.  It is management’s opinion that these supplemental measures provide users of our financial data with an important perspective on our operating performance and also make it easier for users of our financial data to compare our results with other companies that have different financing and capital structures or tax rates. When used herein, references to “FFO” and “AFFO” mean “FFO attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc.” and “AFFO attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc.,” respectively. We calculate FFO in accordance with the definition established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”). FFO reflects net income (loss) attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc. adjusted to exclude gains and losses from the sale of real estate assets, depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, amortization of direct lease acquisition costs and the same adjustments for our equity-based investments and non-controlling interests, as well as the related income tax effect of adjustments, as applicable. We calculate AFFO as FFO adjusted to include cash paid for direct lease acquisition costs as such costs are generally amortized over a period ranging from four weeks to one year and therefore are incurred on a regular basis. AFFO also includes cash paid for maintenance capital expenditures since these are routine uses of cash that are necessary for our operations. In addition, AFFO excludes certain non-cash items, including non-real estate depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, accretion expense, the non-cash effect of straight-line rent, amortization of deferred financing costs and the same adjustments for our non-controlling interests, along with the non-cash portion of income taxes, and the related income tax effect of adjustments, as applicable. We use FFO and AFFO measures for managing our business and for planning and forecasting future periods, and each is an important indicator of our operational strength and business performance, especially compared to other real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). Our management believes users of our financial data are best served if the information that is made available to them allows them to align their analysis and evaluation of our operating results along the same lines that our management uses in managing, planning and executing our business strategy. Our management also believes that the presentations of FFO and AFFO, as supplemental measures, are useful in evaluating our business because adjusting results to reflect items that have more bearing on the operating performance of REITs highlight trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on GAAP financial measures. It is management’s opinion that these supplemental measures provide users of our financial data with an important perspective on our operating performance and also make it easier to compare our results to other companies in our industry, as well as to REITs. Since organic revenues, Adjusted OIBDA, Adjusted OIBDA margin, FFO and AFFO are not measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, they should not be considered in isolation of, or as a substitute for, revenues, operating income (loss) and net income (loss) attributable to OUTFRONT Media Inc., the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, as indicators of operating performance. These measures, as we calculate them, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. In addition, these measures do not necessarily represent funds available for discretionary use and are not necessarily a measure of our ability to fund our cash needs.

Please see Exhibits 4-6 of this release for a reconciliation of the above non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
We have made statements in this document that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “likely,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “predicts,” “estimates,” “forecast” or “anticipates” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. You can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions related to our capital resources, portfolio performance and results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and you should not rely on them as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements depend on assumptions, data or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise and may not be able to be realized. We do not guarantee that the transactions and events described will happen as described (or that they will happen at all). The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements: declines in advertising and general economic conditions, including the current heightened levels of inflation; the severity and duration of pandemics, and the impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations; competition; government regulation; our ability to implement our digital display platform and deploy digital advertising displays to our transit franchise partners; losses and costs resulting from recalls and product liability, warranty and intellectual property claims; our ability to obtain and renew key municipal contracts on favorable terms; taxes, fees and registration requirements; decreased government compensation for the removal of lawful billboards; content-based restrictions on outdoor advertising; seasonal variations; acquisitions and other strategic transactions that we may pursue could have a negative effect on our results of operations; dependence on our management team and other key employees; diverse risks in our Canadian business; experiencing a cybersecurity incident; changes in regulations and consumer concerns regarding privacy, information security and data, or any failure or perceived failure to comply with these regulations or our internal policies; asset impairment charges for our long-lived assets and goodwill; environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; expectations relating to environmental, social and governance considerations; our substantial indebtedness; restrictions in the agreements governing our indebtedness; incurrence of additional debt; interest rate risk exposure from our variable-rate indebtedness; our ability to generate cash to service our indebtedness; cash available for distributions; hedging transactions; the ability of our board of directors to cause us to issue additional shares of stock without common stockholder approval; certain provisions of Maryland law may limit the ability of a third party to acquire control of us; our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited; our failure to remain qualified to be taxed as a REIT; REIT distribution requirements; availability of external sources of capital; we may face other tax liabilities even if we remain qualified to be taxed as a REIT; complying with REIT requirements may cause us to liquidate investments or forgo otherwise attractive investments or business opportunities; our ability to contribute certain contracts to a taxable REIT subsidiary (“TRS”); our planned use of TRSs may cause us to fail to remain qualified to be taxed as a REIT; REIT ownership limits; complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively; failure to meet the REIT income tests as a result of receiving non-qualifying income; the Internal Revenue Service may deem the gains from sales of our outdoor advertising assets to be subject to a 100% prohibited transaction tax; establishing operating partnerships as part of our REIT structure; and other factors described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including but not limited to the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 23, 2023. All forward-looking statements in this document apply as of the date of this document or as of the date they were made and, except as required by applicable law, we disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes.

EXHIBITS

SOURCE OUTFRONT Media Inc.