Today Granite Broadcasting reported its third quarter results. A few excerpts from the press release:
Commenting on the results, W. Don Cornwell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our station group showed solid gains with net revenue increasing 7.1 percent as recent strategic initiatives more than offset the absence of $3.5 million of political and Olympic-related revenue, reductions in network compensation and a soft automotive market. Revenue from the new stations we operate in Fort Wayne and Duluth, the success of numerous local initiatives, and especially strong non-political revenue growth at the Buffalo and Fort Wayne ABC affiliates and the Duluth NBC affiliate all contributed to our performance."
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[John Deushane, Chief Operating Officer] continued, "We are very pleased with the early results of our multiple channel operations in both Duluth and Fort Wayne. The expanded footprint we offer advertisers and the communities in these markets has substantial benefits for everyone. As an example, included in the more than $3 million raised for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort in the communities served by our Big Three station group is over $800,000 raised by our Duluth stations. We were able to mobilize the community to great effect across the various channels we operate in that market. This impressive result in our smallest market underscores one of the many benefits that our shared service arrangement has brought to this community, and reinforces our position as a unique partner to the advertising community."
Mr. Cornwell concluded, "We are pleased with the progress we have made this year in executing our strategic plan but we have more work to do. Our goal of leveraging our operating strength and realigning our asset mix is taking shape through the shared service arrangements with Malara Broadcast Group in Fort Wayne and Duluth, as well as the anticipated sales of our WB affiliates. These transactions are a significant step toward realigning our asset mix and substantially strengthening our capital structure. We intend to use proceeds from the pending sales of the WB stations to grow the cash flow and asset base of the Company by acquiring or operating leading news-oriented stations in small and mid-sized markets. We look forward to updating you as we continue to execute on our strategic initiatives."
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