OUTFRONT had another good quarter.  Here are the results from the Outfront 4Q 2019 earnings release , OUTFRONT 4Q 2019 investor presentation and conference call.

• Revenue increased 7.9% to $488 million with all sectors (national, local, transit and billboard) up.  US billboard revenue was up 7.2%.  US transit revenue was up 13.8%.  CEO Jeremy Male said the company projects revenues in the mid-single digit range during 2020.
• The company’s US billboard yields increased by 8.4% to $2,402 during the fourth quarter of 2019.

OUTFRONT US Billboard Yields 4Q 2018 Versus 4Q 2019

• Expenses increased by 9% to $336.4 million during the fourth quarter of 2019.  Billboard lease and transit franchise costs increased due to increased revenue.  Corporate overhead increased by 4.9 million (50%) t0 $14.7 million during the fourth quarter due mainly to equity-linked compensation costs associated with a steep increase in the company’s stock during 2020.
• Cashflow (adjusted OBIDA) increased by 5% to $152 million.
• Capital expenditures totaled $25 million for the fourth quarter, consisting of $3.1 million of maintenance capital and $21.4 million of growth capital.  The company’s MTA screens increased by 837 to 4,505 during the fourth quarter.  The MTA contract calls for 50,000 screens.  MTA deployment costs were $50 million for the quarter.  They are not included in capital expenditures because they are accrued as a prepaid MTA deployment cost and are amortized against the MTA contract revenues.
• Debt/Cashflow is a reasonable 4.5 times and most debt matures after 2023.  The company has $577 million in liquidity (cash and undrawn lines of credit) and the ability to issue $277 million in equity.   The weighted average cost of debt is 4.5%.

Insider’s take:  Great revenue growth but OUTFRONT like Lamar is forecasting slower growth next quarter.     OUTFRONT has $854 in liquidity and a stock issuance facility to fund $300 million in future MTA expenses and $100 million in annual capexp.   About the only negative was that expenses grew faster than revenues due to increased lease, costs, transit franchise costs and corporate overhead.

[wpforms id=”9787″]

Paid Advertisement