Cumulus Media Inc. today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013.

Lew Dickey, Chairman & CEO stated: "This was another solid quarter for the Company. Our growth initiatives complemented our core business, which continued to take share, and we are seeing a continuation of these trends in fourth quarter."

Three Months Ended September 30, 2013 Compared to Three Months Ended September 30, 2012

Net Revenues

Net revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2013 increased $5.7 million, or 2.1%, to $281.1 million, compared to $275.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012. This increase was primarily attributable to a $4.6 million increase in local spot advertising revenue, an increase of $2.1 million in national advertising revenue, an increase of $1.3 million in live event revenue, and an increase of $0.9 million in revenue due to the addition of stations in the Bloomington and Peoria markets which were acquired in July 2012, all of which was partially offset by a decrease of $2.9 million in cyclical political revenues.

Direct Operating Expenses, Excluding Depreciation and Amortization

Direct operating expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2013 increased $12.3 million, or 7.6%, to $174.0 million, compared to $161.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012. The increase was primarily attributable to $4.0 million of ongoing investments in national content initiatives, a $1.9 million increase related to ongoing investments in our sales infrastructure, and a $0.6 million increase in expenses due to the acquisition of stations in the Bloomington and Peoria markets. In addition, music publishing license fees increased by $8.3 million as a result of a non-recurring, one-time credit received in the comparable 2012 period from an industry-wide settlement with Broadcast Music, Inc.

Corporate, General and Administrative Expenses, Including Stock-based Compensation Expense

Corporate general and administrative expenses, including stock-based compensation expense, for the three months ended September 30, 2013 decreased $1.2 million, or 9.4%, to $11.8 million, compared to $13.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012. This decrease is primarily due to a decrease of $1.7 million in acquisition costs, partially offset by an increase of $0.4 million in other overhead costs.

Interest Expense, net

Total interest expense, net of interest income, for the three months ended September 30, 2013 decreased $4.6 million, or 9.2%, to $45.2 million compared to $49.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012. Interest expense associated with outstanding debt decreased by $5.2 million to $41.7 million as compared to $46.9 million in the prior year period. This decrease was due to lower average indebtedness outstanding resulting from principal repayments and a lower weighted average cost of debt due to the December 2012 amendment to our first lien credit facility.

Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditures for the three months ended September 30, 2013 totaled $3.6 million, which represented routine capital expenditures required for the maintenance of the Company's technical facilities. Capital expenditures during the three months ended September 30, 2012 were $2.7 million.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

At September 30, 2013, cash on hand was $64.2 million. We prepaid $50 million of principal outstanding under our senior credit facility in the quarter ended September 30, 2013 and had $150.0 million of borrowing availability under our revolving credit facility at that date. On October 16, 2013, we closed on an underwritten public offering where we sold 18,860,000 shares of our Class A common stock at a price to the public of $5.00 per share. Net proceeds after underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses were $89.8 million. We intend to use approximately $78.0 million of the net proceeds from the offering to redeem all outstanding shares of the Company's Series B preferred stock, including accrued and unpaid dividends. The remaining net proceeds from the offering are expected to be placed in our corporate treasury and used for general corporate purposes.

Based on our financial condition as of September 30, 2013, and after giving effect to the transactions described above, we believe that cash on hand and cash expected to be generated from operating activities will be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated financing needs for working capital, capital expenditures, interest and debt service payments, and any repurchases of securities and other debt obligations for the foreseeable future.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2013 Compared to Nine Months Ended September 30, 2012

Net Revenues

Net revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 increased $11.2 million, or 1.4%, to $803.6 million, compared to $792.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. This increase was attributable to a $5.8 million increase in local spot advertising revenue, an increase of $4.3 million in national advertising revenue, an increase of $4.8 million in live event revenue and a $5.9 million increase in revenue due to the addition of stations in the Bloomington and Peoria markets which were acquired in July 2012, partially offset by a decrease of $6.9 million in cyclical political revenue.

Direct Operating Expenses, Excluding Depreciation and Amortization

Direct operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 increased $25.9 million, or 5.3%, to $510.0 million, compared to $484.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase was primarily attributable to a $22.6 million increase in our national content initiatives as well as ongoing investments in our sales infrastructure and a $4.1 million increase in expenses due to the addition of the stations in the Bloomington and Peoria markets we acquired from Townsquare Media in July 2012.

Corporate, General and Administrative Expenses, Including Stock-based Compensation Expense

Corporate general and administrative expenses, including stock-based compensation expense, for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 decreased $13.1 million, or 28.2%, to $33.4 million, compared to $46.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The decrease is primarily due to a decrease in acquisition related costs of $4.9 million mostly associated with the closure of the legacy Citadel corporate offices and an $8.3 million decrease in stock-based compensation expense.

Interest Expense, net

Total interest expense, net of interest income, for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 decreased $16.9 million, or 11.3%, to $133.3 million compared to $150.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. Interest expense associated with outstanding debt decreased by $17.6 million to $124.5 million as compared to $142.1 million in the prior year period. This decrease was due to lower average indebtedness outstanding resulting from principal repayments and a lower weighted average cost of debt due to the December 2012 amendment to our first lien credit facility.

Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditures for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 totaled $8.5 million, which represented routine capital investments in the Company's technical facilities. Capital expenditures during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 were $4.7 million.