Entercom trims senior net debt by $24.1 million in third quarter, plans to trim more debt

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Savannah, Ga., Nov. 5 - Entercom Communications Corp. reduced its outstanding senior net debt by $24.1 million in the third quarter and plans to continue using free cash flow to further reduce its debt going forward, David Field, Entercom's chief executive officer, said during the company's third-quarter earnings conference call held Friday.

Entercom's leverage was just under 6 times at Sept. 30, Steve Fisher, Entercom's chief financial officer, reported during the call.

"If you look back to when the economy went into this prolonged slump in late 2008, we have reduced debt by over $200 million over that period of time. I'd say that's a strong business model," Fisher said.

At Sept. 30, Entercom had $3.4 million in cash and $676.2 million of senior debt.

Year to date the company has reduced its outstanding net senior debt by $52.3 million.

Entercom's free cash flow improved to $23.4 million during the third quarter and is expected to total more than $80 million for the year, Fisher said.

When asked during the question-and-answer session whether the company is interested in tapping the bond market soon, Fisher said Entercom is comfortable with its current capital structure.

"I'd say right now, we are extremely pleased with our existing structure and the favorable rate we have, and you would expect us to perhaps look at [the capital markets] more significantly later in 2011," he said.

Not up to standards

Entercom reported third-quarter net revenues of $102.7 million, up from net revenues of $99.8 million in the same period of 2009. EBITDA was $31.0 million for the period, up from $29.7 million in the same period of 2009.

However, during the call, Field said the company did not perform to its standards during the period, as its execution fell short in a few markets and the company failed to do a good job at integrating initiatives during the quarter.

Nonetheless, Entercom feels good about its prospects going forward, he said.

Entercom is a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., radio broadcasting company.

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