NAPLES, Florida, March 2, 2018 – Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBGI) (“the Company”), a large- and mid-size market radio broadcaster, announced today that its Board of Directors approved an 11.1 percent increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.05 per share of its Class A and Class B common stock beginning with the dividend declared for the first quarter of 2018. The dividend is payable on Friday, April 6, 2018, to shareholders of record on Friday, March 30, 2018.
Caroline Beasley, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The increase in Beasley’s cash dividend reflects the Board’s commitment to creating value for shareholders and our success over the past year integrating the Greater Media properties into our platform. Our expanded operating scale and ongoing leverage reduction combined with the recurring benefit from the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is resulting in higher free cash flow, enabling us to increase our return of capital to shareholders and continue with our leverage reduction initiatives, while leaving us with the financial flexibility to pursue additional platform building initiatives including select accretive transactions.”
While the Company intends to pay regular quarterly cash dividends for the foreseeable future, all subsequent dividends will be reviewed quarterly and declared by the Board of Directors at its discretion.
About Beasley Broadcast Group
Celebrating its 57th anniversary this year, Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., (www.bbgi.com) was founded in 1961 by George G. Beasley, who remains the Company’s Chairman of the Board. Beasley Broadcast Group owns and operates 63 stations (45 FM and 18 AM) in 15 large- and mid-size markets in the United States. Beasley radio stations reach approximately 19.0 million unique consumers weekly over-the-air, online and on smartphones and tablets, and millions regularly engage with the Company’s brands and personalities through digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, text, apps and email. For more information, please visit www.bbgi.com.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements in this release that are “forward-looking statements” are based upon current expectations and assumptions, and involve certain risks and uncertainties within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words or expressions such as “intends,” “expects,” “expected,” “anticipates” or variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Key risks are described in our reports filed with the SEC including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. Readers should note that forward-looking statements are subject to change and to inherent risks and uncertainties and may be impacted by several factors, including: external economic forces that could have a material adverse impact on our advertising revenues and results of operations; our radio stations may not be able to compete effectively in their respective markets for advertising revenues; we may not remain competitive if we do not respond to changes in technology, standards and services that affect our industry; audience acceptance of our content, particularly our radio programs; our substantial debt levels; and, the loss of key personnel. Our actual performance and results could differ materially because of these factors and other factors discussed in the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition” in our SEC filings, including but not limited to annual reports on Form 10-K or quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which can be obtained from the SEC, www.sec.gov, or our website, www.bbgi.com. All information in this release is as of March 2, 2018, and we undertake no obligation to update the information contained herein to actual results or changes to our expectations.
