iHeartMedia announced an upbeat Q3 earnings report this week. At the top line, the company might have wished it could splash a billion-dollar figure, but settled for $989-million — a seven percent year-over-year gain.
Following the examples of recent quarters, the Digital Audio Group led the way directionally, with revenue of $254M, representing a 23% year-over-year gain. Take podcasting out of that metric, and there is a $163M (15%) YoY gain in the digital group.
Podcasting by itself earned $91M in revenue, a 42% leap from Q3 2022.
The performance of iHeart’s Multiplatform Group “demonstrated resilience,” the company said. The flat year-over-year earning totalled $660-million.
Looking ahead, iHeart predicted topline revenue increase between two and six percent year-over-year.
“We’re pleased to report another quarter of solid operating results for iHeart, and our performance in the midst of the current climate of economic uncertainty is a strong indication of the successful transformation this company has undergone in which our high-growth digital revenues comprises 26% of total company revenues,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc. “Our Digital Audio Group continues to deliver industry-leading growth, and our Multiplatform Group has again demonstrated its resiliency during a difficult economic environment. We believe the strong positions of both of these groups with both consumers and advertisers give us the ability to both navigate through this period of economic uncertainty and position us for continued growth through the recovery and beyond.”
