Nov 5, 2008 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) ----

   
   
   Net Income Rises 134% and Station Operating Income Increases 5.9%
   
   Conference Call:  Today, November 5, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. ET
   Dial-in number:   973/582-2717
   Webcast:          www.bbgi.com
   
   Replay information provided below
   
   

NAPLES, Fla., Nov. 5, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:BBGI), a large- and mid-size market radio broadcaster, today announced operating results for the for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2008 as summarized below:

   
   
   Summary of Third Quarter and Year-to-date Results
   
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   Three Months           Nine Months
   In millions, except per       Ended                  Ended
   share data                 September 30,         September 30,
   -----------------------------------------------  --------------------
   2008   2007 Change    2008   2007  Change
   -----------------------------------------------  --------------------
   Net revenue                $30.6  $33.3  (8.2)%  $91.0  $98.9  (8.0)%
   -----------------------------------------------  --------------------
   Operating income             6.0    5.1  18.8%    17.1   17.2  (0.9)%
   -----------------------------------------------  --------------------
   Station operating
   income (SOI - non-GAAP)     9.0    8.5   5.9%    26.4   27.5  (3.8)%
   -----------------------------------------------  --------------------
   Net income                   2.3    1.0 133.6%     5.9    4.3  39.1%
   -----------------------------------------------  --------------------
   Net income per diluted
   share                     $0.10  $0.04 150.0%   $0.25  $0.18  38.9%
   -----------------------------------------------  --------------------
   Diluted shares outstanding  23.4   23.4  (0.3)%   23.3   23.5  (0.7)%
   -----------------------------------------------  --------------------
   
   

The $2.7 million decrease in net revenue during the three months ended September 30, 2008 compared with the third quarter of 2007 reflects a $1.6 million net revenue decline at the Company's Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market cluster partially attributable to the Company's election to not renew certain sports programming broadcast rights, which contributed $0.9 million during the third quarter of 2007. The decline in net revenue also reflects an additional $0.7 million decline in the Company's Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market cluster, a $0.7 million decline in the Company's Ft. Myers-Naples market cluster and a $0.3 million decrease in the Greenville-New Bern market cluster. These decreases were partially offset by a $0.3 million increase at the Company's Philadelphia market cluster due to improved performance in that market and a year-over-year rise in revenue from the Company's interactive and "off air" revenue initiatives.

The $1.0 million increase in 2008 third quarter operating income primarily reflects a 13% reduction in total costs and expenses including a 17% reduction in costs of services, a 9% reduction in selling, general and administrative (including stock-based compensation) expenses and a 17% reduction in corporate general and administrative (including stock-based compensation) expenses.

Third quarter 2008 station operating income (SOI), a non-GAAP financial measure, rose $0.5 million from the 2007 third quarter as the lower station operating expenses as percentage of net revenue, more than offset the lower revenue levels in the period. The significant increase in 2008 third quarter net income and net income per diluted share compared to the year-ago period primarily reflects the $1.0 million increase in 2008 third quarter operating income and a $1.5 reduction in interest expense due to a decrease in borrowing costs and voluntary repayments of borrowings under the Company's existing credit facility, which were partially offset by a $1.1 million increase in income tax expense.

Please refer to the "Calculation of SOI," and "Reconciliation of SOI to Net Income," tables at the end of this announcement for a discussion regarding SOI calculations.

Commenting on the results, George G. Beasley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Given the many challenges that the industry faced during the third quarter of 2008, we believe that the notable rise in our SOI, net income and diluted EPS during the period highlights the ability of our station and corporate personnel to effectively manage our portfolio of stations.

"While reported total net revenue declined 8.2% from third quarter 2007 levels, Beasley Broadcast Group's third quarter 2008 revenue was down 5.6% if the year-ago benefit of sports broadcast rights in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale are excluded. We believe both measures compare favorably with the industry's overall performance during this challenging period. During the third quarter, we also continued to drive significant high margin revenue growth from our interactive and 'off air' revenue initiatives with revenue from these sources rising approximately 43% to $1.5 million from the comparable year-ago period.

"The advertising slump and deteriorating economic conditions impacted our ability to grow revenues during the period. However, we've taken significant steps company-wide to cut costs not vital to our sales and programming efforts. The benefit of this approach is highlighted in the third quarter margin improvements and Beasley remains positioned with the right combination of resources and cost disciplines to quickly recapture momentum as radio advertising demand returns to more robust levels. In terms of capital allocation, we continue to believe that applying cash from operations to the reduction of debt is prudent both on a near- and long-term basis. The reduction of debt, along with lower interest costs, decreased interest expense during the quarter, which contributed significantly to pre-tax income rising two and a half times over what was recorded in the third quarter of last year. Reflecting this focus, total debt fell to approximately $179.1 million at September 30, 2008 from approximately $191.1 million at December 31, 2007.

"Looking forward, with personnel and programming changes in place in various clusters, we remain focused on our long-term goal of out-performing the markets in which we operate and we continue to manage the Company for revenue growth from our core operations, interactive and 'off-air' initiatives and HD Radio(tm) while also seeking margin growth through prudent expense management."

Guidance

The Company has elected to discontinue the practice of providing specific quarterly net revenue guidance. However, the Company intends to provide certain expense expectations during its quarterly conference call (see details below).

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call and simultaneous webcast today, November 5, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. ET to discuss its financial results and operations. Both the call and webcast are open to the general public. The dial in number for the conference call is 973/582-2717; please call five minutes in advance to ensure that you are connected prior to the presentation.

Interested parties may also access the live call on the Internet at the Company's Web site at www.bbgi.com; allow 15 minutes to register and download and install any necessary software. Questions and answers will be reserved for call-in analysts and institutional investors. Following its completion, a replay of the call can be accessed for 5 days on the Internet from the Company's Web site or for 24 hours via telephone at 800/642-1687 (reservation # 67734168).

Founded in 1961, Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. is a radio broadcasting company that owns or operates 44 stations (27 FM and 17 AM) located in eleven large- and mid-size markets in the United States.

The Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4259

Definitions

Station Operating Income (SOI) consists of net revenue less station operating expenses. We define station operating expenses as cost of services and selling, general and administrative expenses.

SOI is a financial measure of performance that is not calculated in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, which we refer to as GAAP. We use this non-GAAP financial measure for internal budgeting purposes. We also use SOI to make decisions regarding the possible acquisition or disposition of radio stations. SOI excludes corporate-level costs and expenses and depreciation and amortization, which may be material to an assessment of the Company's overall operating performance. Management compensates for this limitation by separately considering the impact of these excluded items to the extent they are material to operating decisions or assessments of the Company's operating performance. Moreover, the corresponding amounts of the non-cash and corporate-level costs and expenses excluded from the calculation are available to investors as they are presented on our statements of operations contained in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

SOI is a measure widely used in the radio broadcast industry. While the Company recognizes that because SOI is not calculated in accordance with GAAP, it is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. Management believes that SOI provides meaningful information to investors because it is an important measure of how effectively we operate our business (i.e., operate radio stations) and assists investors in comparing our operating performance with that of other radio companies.

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, 2007. 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: a continuation or worsening of the current economic downturn and regulatory changes, the effect of radio station acquisitions or dispositions that we may make, the loss of key personnel, a downturn in the performance of our radio stations, our substantial debt levels and changes in the radio broadcast industry generally. 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" of 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 November 5, 2008, and we undertake no obligation to update the information contained herein to actual results or changes to our expectations.

   
   
   BEASLEY BROADCAST GROUP, INC.
   Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
   
   
   Three Months Ended      Nine Months Ended
   September 30,           September 30,
   2008         2007       2008         2007
   ----         ----       ----         ----
   Net revenue          $30,571,244 $33,285,701 $90,977,719  $98,897,353
   ----------- ----------- -----------  -----------
   Costs and expenses:
   Cost of services
   (including stock-
   based compensation
   and excluding
   depreciation and
   amortization)(1)(2) 10,418,913  12,501,619  29,647,257   35,428,293
   Selling, general and
   administrative
   (including
   stock-based
   compensation)(1)(3) 11,104,606  12,240,981  34,908,556   36,012,966
   LMA fees                     --          --          --      159,084
   Corporate general
   and administrative
   (including
   stock-based
   compensation)(4)
   2,214,838   2,671,256   7,109,008    7,728,012
   Depreciation and
   amortization           790,154     786,352   2,228,020    2,330,242
   ----------- ----------- -----------  -----------
   Total costs and
   expenses           24,528,511  28,200,208  73,892,841   81,658,597
   Operating income       6,042,733   5,085,493  17,084,878   17,238,756
   Interest expense      (2,045,164) (3,583,319) (6,839,564) (10,487,802)
   Loss on
   extinguishment of
   long-term debt               --          --          --     (366,599)
   Other non-operating
   expenses                 (4,434)     (6,750)   (182,084)     (28,786)
   Interest income           85,357     115,887     283,261      333,123
   Other non-operating
   income                   (3,477)      5,500      47,617      235,862
   ----------- ----------- -----------  -----------
   Income before income
   taxes                 4,075,015   1,616,811  10,394,108    6,924,554
   Income tax expense     1,756,332     624,089   4,479,861    2,672,878
   ----------- ----------- -----------  -----------
   Net income            $2,318,683    $992,722  $5,914,247   $4,251,676
   =========== =========== ===========  ===========
   Basic and diluted net
   income per share:         $0.10       $0.04       $0.25        $0.18
   =========== =========== ===========  ===========
   Dividends declared
   per common share:         $0.05       $0.06       $0.18        $0.19
   =========== =========== ===========  ===========
   Basic common shares
   outstanding          23,321,964  23,336,926  23,278,141   23,370,164
   =========== =========== ===========  ===========
   Diluted common shares
   outstanding          23,357,867  23,434,397  23,330,994   23,496,804
   =========== =========== ===========  ===========
   
   
   (1) We refer to "Cost of services," and "Selling, general and
   administrative" together as "station operating expenses" for the
   "Calculation of SOI" and "Reconciliation of SOI to Net Income"
   below.
   (2) Includes stock-based compensation of $1,082 and $(2,239) for the
   three months ended September 30, 2008 and 2007, respectively and
   $3,246 and $906 for the nine months ended September 30, 2008 and
   2007, respectively.
   (3) Includes stock-based compensation of $23,064 and $33,066 for the
   three months ended September 30, 2008 and 2007, respectively and
   $121,586 and $189,613 for the nine months ended September 30,
   2008 and 2007, respectively.
   (4) Includes stock-based compensation of $349,871 and $545,586 for
   the three months ended September 30, 2008 and 2007, respectively
   and $1,135,531 and $1,675,150 for the nine months ended
   September 30, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
   
   
   Selected Balance Sheet Data - Unaudited
   (in thousands)
   ------------   ------------
   September 30,  December 31,
   2008           2007
   ------------   ------------
   Cash and cash equivalents                   $ 4,984        $ 6,551
   Working capital                              15,704         21,954
   Total assets                                333,392        337,152
   Long term debt, less current installments   175,967        191,056
   Total stockholders' equity                   88,141         85,186
   
   
   Selected Statement of Cash Flows Data - Unaudited
   (in thousands)
   ---------------------------
   Nine Months Ended
   September 30,
   ---------------------------
   2008           2007
   ------------   ------------
   Net cash provided by operating activities  $ 16,750       $ 13,236
   Net cash used in investing activities        (1,201)       (46,977)
   Net cash provided by (used in) financing
   activities                                 (17,116)        31,284
   ------------   ------------
   Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents    (1,567)        (2,457)
   
   
   Calculation of SOI - Unaudited
   --------------------------  --------------------------
   Three Months Ended           Nine Months Ended
   September 30,               September 30,
   --------------------------  --------------------------
   2008          2007          2008          2007
   ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
   Net revenue    $ 30,571,244  $ 33,285,701  $ 90,977,719  $ 98,897,353
   Station
   operating
   expenses       (21,523,519)  (24,742,600)  (64,555,813)  (71,441,259)
   ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
   SOI           $  9,047,725  $  8,543,101  $ 26,421,906  $ 27,456,094
   ============  ============  ============  ============
   
   
   Reconciliation of SOI to Net Income - Unaudited
   
   --------------------------  --------------------------
   Three Months Ended           Nine Months Ended
   September 30,               September 30,
   --------------------------  --------------------------
   2008          2007          2008          2007
   ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
   
   
   SOI             $ 9,047,725   $ 8,543,101  $ 26,421,906  $ 27,456,094
   LMA fees                 --            --            --      (159,084)
   Corporate
   general and
   administrative  (2,214,838)   (2,671,256)   (7,109,008)   (7,728,012)
   Depreciation
   and
   amortization      (790,154)     (786,352)   (2,228,020)   (2,330,242)
   Interest
   expense         (2,045,164)   (3,583,319)   (6,839,564)  (10,487,802)
   Loss on
   extinguishment
   of long-term
   debt                   --            --            --       (366,599)
   Other non-
   operating
   expenses            (4,434)       (6,750)     (182,084)      (28,786)
   Interest income      85,357       115,887       283,261       333,123
   Other non-
   operating
   income              (3,477)        5,500        47,617       235,862
   Income tax
   expense         (1,756,332)     (624,089)   (4,479,861)   (2,672,878)
   ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
   Net income     $ 2,318,683     $ 992,722   $ 5,914,247   $ 4,251,676
   ============  ============  ============  ============
   
   

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc.

Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc.
   B. Caroline Beasley, Chief Financial Officer
   239/263-5000
   email@bbgi.com
   
   Jaffoni & Collins Incorporated
   Joseph N. Jaffoni
   Ratula Roy
   212/835-8500
   bbgi@jcir.com
   

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