Expects to Report Q4 Net Revenue Growth of +5% and Adjusted EBITDA Growth of +30% ⁽¹⁾  

Expects to Report Full Year Adjusted EBITDA Growth of +7% ⁽¹⁾ 

Announces Conference Call to Discuss Results on March 18th 

ATLANTA, Feb. 25, 2019 — Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ: CMLS) (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) today announced selected preliminary unaudited operating results for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2018.

For the three months ended December 31, 2018, the Company expects to report net revenue in a range of $307.0 million to $309.0 million, net income in a range of $42.0 million to $44.0 million, and Adjusted EBITDA in a range of $64.0 million to $66.0 million.  Adjusted EBITDA performance for the three months ended December 31, 2018 is expected to show growth at the midpoint of the range of approximately 30.4% from the three months ended December 31, 2017. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, the Company expects to report net revenue in a range of $1,139.0 million to $1,141.0 million, net income in a range of $755.7 million to $757.7 million, and Adjusted EBITDA in a range of $232.7 million to $234.7 million. Adjusted EBITDA performance for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 is expected to show growth at the midpoint of the range of approximately 7.3% from the twelve months ended December 31, 2017. For the first quarter of 2019, the Company is currently pacing approximately flat, with continued strength in national and digital offset by local and political.

These preliminary unaudited results are not adjusted to reflect the impact of the recently announced divestiture of six stations to Educational Media Foundation.  If the stations subject to this transaction were excluded for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, preliminary unaudited net revenue would have been lower by $23 to $25 million and preliminary unaudited Adjusted EBITDA would have been lower by $5 to $7 million.

The Company’s preliminary unaudited operating results and key operating performance measures were not materially impacted by the Company’s emergence from Chapter 11 and adoption of fresh start accounting during the second quarter of 2018. For the purposes of the analysis of the results presented herein, the Company is presenting the combined results of operations for the period June 4, 2018 to December 31, 2018 of the Successor Company with the period January 1, 2018 to June 3, 2018 of the Predecessor Company. Although this presentation is not in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, the Company believes presenting and analyzing the combined results allows for a more meaningful comparison of results for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2018 to the twelve months ended December 31, 2017.

Mary Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cumulus Media, said, “Throughout 2018, despite the significant distraction of bankruptcy, we remained focused on the execution of our strategic priorities – maximizing operating performance, growing our digital businesses, and optimizing our asset portfolio. Collectively, we believe these will help us meet our key financial goals of generating as much as $100 million of free cash flow per year, reducing our net leverage to below 4.0X as quickly as possible and reinvesting in opportunities with meaningful growth potential.”

Berner continued, “Our fourth quarter and full year 2018 results reflect solid execution against these priorities and great progress toward achieving our financial goals. The Company delivered the first full year of revenue growth in four years and the second consecutive year of EBITDA growth, following a five-year decline. Our digital revenue grew over 60% in the year, accelerating each quarter, which supported a string of eight straight quarters of revenue market share gains. As a result of our EBITDA growth and a $50 million voluntary debt prepayment in October, we expect our net leverage at year end will be reduced to approximately 5.2x. And, importantly, we took meaningful steps toward optimizing our portfolio with two recently announced transactions, which will further reduce net leverage. I am exceedingly proud of the entire Cumulus team for delivering on the promises we have made to our stakeholders to date and look forward to more progress in the months and years ahead.”

(1) Percentage change is based on the mid-point of the expected range of results.

The Company will issue a press release reporting its fourth quarter and full year 2018 operating results at approximately 4:00 PM EDT on Monday, March 18^th and will host a conference call to discuss these results at 4:30 PM EDT that day. Conference call details can be found later in this press release.

Click here to view the full press release.