The Company reported revenues of $60.2 million, an increase of 8.4% over revenues of $55.5 million for the first quarter of 2000. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the quarter were $27.3 million, compared to $24.3 million for the first quarter of 2000, 12.2% increase. Net income for the quarter was $16.3 million, compared with $14.7 million reported during the same period of 2000, an increase of 10.8%. Pro forma net income per share was $0.56 (basic and diluted), compared with $0.51 per share in 2000, a 9.8% increase. Pro forma net income per share has been adjusted to reflect the one-for-five reverse split, which became effective following Arbitron’s reverse spin-off from Ceridian.
Arbitron reported EBITDA of $28.4 million for the first quarter, an 11.7% increase over EBITDA of $25.4 million reported in 2000.
In announcing the Company’s results, Stephen Morris, president and chief executive officer of Arbitron, said, We are extremely pleased to report these quarterly results, our first as a public company. Over the last five years, we’ve shown we can consistently build our core business. Our number of station customers has grown consistently, and our cross-sell of Scarborough data and application software services has been highly successful. Basically, these tools help our customers build their own revenue. As they succeed, we succeed.
As we move forward, it is our intention to continue to develop the core business while introducing the new technologies and services that strengthen our core and extend our business to new media and new markets.
Mr. Morris continued, We believe that two of our key initiatives-the Portable People Meter and Webcast Ratings-will contribute to the growth of our company in the years to come. The PPM, in particular, will not only strengthen our radio ratings business, but it will help us to expand into other areas such as television, cable and international markets. The PPM is currently undergoing market trials within the Philadelphia market. Today, more than 300 consumers are carrying Portable People Meters to track their radio, television and cable exposure both in and out of the home. We’re showing that we can monitor radio, cable and broadcast television behavior through a single system. A single ratings system supported by all three media will allow us to survey a larger number of consumers, providing media outlets with even more reliable estimates of their audience demographics.
