UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 10-Q
x
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2015
OR
¨
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to .
Commission File Number: 000-50478
NEXSTAR BROADCASTING GROUP, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Delaware
23-3083125
(State of Incorporation or Organization)
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
545 E. John Carpenter Freeway, Suite 700, Irving, Texas
75062
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
(Zip Code)
(972) 373-8800
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that it was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (check one):
Large accelerated filer
Accelerated filer
Non-accelerated filer
Smaller reporting company
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x
As of May 4, 2015, the registrant had 31,291,608 shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PART I
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1.
Financial Statements (Unaudited)
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014
1
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014
2
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the three months ended March 31, 2015
3
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014
4
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
5
ITEM 2.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
28
ITEM 3.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
36
ITEM 4.
Controls and Procedures
37
PART II
OTHER INFORMATION
Legal Proceedings
ITEM 1A.
Risk Factors
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
Defaults Upon Senior Securities
Mine Safety Disclosures
ITEM 5.
Other Information
ITEM 6.
Exhibits
38
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Financial Statements
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except share information, unaudited)
March 31,
December 31,
2015
2014
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
44,584
131,912
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $4,544 and $3,002, respectively
164,581
127,878
Deferred tax assets, net
49,926
41,737
Broadcast rights
16,855
10,873
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
5,692
5,264
Total current assets
281,638
317,664
Property and equipment, net
277,837
237,739
Goodwill
441,129
256,491
FCC licenses
489,698
322,040
Other intangible assets, net
347,660
194,129
Other noncurrent assets, net
65,189
134,162
Total assets (1)
1,903,151
1,462,225
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Current portion of debt
17,189
15,840
Current portion of broadcast rights payable
17,937
11,935
Accounts payable
20,335
17,231
Accrued expenses
38,096
36,807
Taxes payable
19,064
4,899
Interest payable
16,612
4,601
Other current liabilities
7,180
5,953
Total current liabilities
136,413
97,266
Debt
1,526,830
1,220,304
Deferred tax liabilities
117,198
44,224
Other noncurrent liabilities
51,273
43,894
Total liabilities (1)
1,831,714
1,405,688
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock - $0.01 par value, 200,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding
at each of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014
-
Class A Common stock - $0.01 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized; 31,291,608 and
31,172,060 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014,
respectively
313
312
Class B Common stock - $0.01 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and
outstanding at each of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014
Class C Common stock - $0.01 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and
Additional paid-in capital
398,116
398,029
Accumulated deficit
(332,897
)
(345,804
Total Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. stockholders' equity
65,532
52,537
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated variable interest entities
5,905
4,000
Total stockholders' equity
71,437
56,537
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
(1)
The consolidated total assets as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 include certain assets held by consolidated VIEs of $122.9 million and $49.1 million, respectively, which are not available to be used to settle the obligations of Nexstar. The consolidated total liabilities as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 include certain liabilities of consolidated VIEs of $38.5 million and $17.9 million for which the creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to the general credit of Nexstar. See Note 2 for additional information.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share information, unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Net revenue
203,391
133,833
Operating expenses:
Direct operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization
69,685
41,849
Selling, general, and administrative expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization
57,289
41,040
Amortization of broadcast rights
14,581
8,632
Amortization of intangible assets
13,060
6,193
Depreciation
10,872
8,419
Total operating expenses
165,487
106,133
Income from operations
37,904
27,700
Interest expense, net
(19,293
(15,170
Other expenses
(118
(128
Income before income taxes
18,493
12,402
Income tax expense
(6,581
(5,049
Net income
11,912
7,353
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests
995
Net income attributable to Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.
12,907
Net income per common share attributable to Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.:
Basic
0.41
0.24
Diluted
0.40
0.23
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:
31,196
30,603
32,256
31,909
Dividends declared per common share
0.19
0.15
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2015
Noncontrolling
interests in
Common Stock
Additional
consolidated
Total
Preferred Stock
Class A
Class B
Class C
Paid-In
Accumulated
variable
Stockholders'
Shares
Amount
Capital
Deficit
interest entities
Equity
Balances as of December 31, 2014
31,172,060
Stock-based compensation
expense
2,858
Exercise of stock options
119,548
1,464
1,465
Excess tax benefit from stock
option exercises
1,686
Common stock dividends
declared
(5,921
Consolidation of a variable
interest entity
2,900
(995
Balances as of March 31, 2015
31,291,608
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in thousands, unaudited)
Cash flows from operating activities:
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Provision for bad debt
453
1,015
Amortization of broadcast rights, excluding barter
5,162
2,960
Depreciation of property and equipment
Loss (gain) on asset disposal, net
802
(15
Amortization of debt financing costs
820
647
Amortization of debt discount (premium), net
65
43
Stock-based compensation expense
1,643
Deferred income taxes
5,139
4,496
Payments for broadcast rights
(5,271
(3,149
Deferred gain recognition
(109
Amortization of deferred representation fee incentive
(264
(205
Non-cash representation contract termination fee
1,516
Excess tax benefit from stock option exercises
(1,686
(274
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions and dispositions:
Accounts receivable
934
3,958
1,452
1,184
Other noncurrent assets
56
92
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
(5,781
1,528
(4,478
141
12,011
8,932
103
(121
Net cash provided by operating activities
49,626
44,731
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment
(6,401
(3,983
Payments for acquisitions, net of cash acquired
(459,979
(22,057
Proceeds from disposal of a station
26,805
Proceeds from disposals of property and equipment
877
14
Net cash used in investing activities
(438,698
(26,026
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from long-term debt
411,950
Repayments of long-term debt
(104,140
(3,610
Payments for debt financing costs
(2,920
(77
Proceeds from exercise of stock options
107
274
Common stock dividends paid
(4,588
Payments for capital lease obligations
(376
(259
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
301,744
(8,153
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents
(87,328
10,552
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
40,028
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
50,580
Supplemental information:
Interest paid
6,397
5,547
Income taxes paid, net of refunds
5,925
47
Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Accrued purchases of property and equipment
1,321
966
Noncash purchases of property and equipment
1,276
Accrued debt financing costs
127
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. Organization and Business Operations
As of March 31, 2015, Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (“Nexstar”) owned, operated, programmed or provided sales and other services to 107 television stations and 36 digital multicast channels, including those owned by variable interest entities (“VIEs”), in 58 markets in the states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. The stations are affiliates of ABC (20 stations), NBC (20 stations), FOX (28 stations), CBS (17 stations), The CW (10 stations and 2 digital multicast channels), MyNetworkTV (10 stations and 4 digital multicast channels), Telemundo (one station and one digital multicast channel), RTV (one station), Bounce TV (9 digital multicast channels), Me-TV (9 digital multicast channels), Estrella (6 digital multicast channels), LATV (one digital multicast channel), This TV (one digital multicast channel), Weather Nation Utah (one digital multicast channel), Movies! (one digital multicast channel) and News/Weather (one digital multicast channel). Through various local service agreements, Nexstar provided sales, programming and other services to 31 stations and 6 digital multicast channels owned and/or operated by independent third parties. Nexstar operates in one reportable television broadcasting segment. The economic characteristics, services, production process, customer type and distribution methods for Nexstar’s operations are substantially similar and are therefore aggregated as a single reportable segment.
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Principles of Consolidation
The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Nexstar and the accounts of independently-owned VIEs for which Nexstar is the primary beneficiary. Nexstar and the consolidated VIEs are collectively referred to as the “Company.” Noncontrolling interests represent the VIE owners’ share of the equity in the consolidated VIEs and are presented as a component separate from Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. stockholders’ equity. All intercompany account balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Nexstar management evaluates each arrangement that may include variable interests and determines the need to consolidate an entity where it determines Nexstar is the primary beneficiary of a VIE in accordance with related authoritative literature and interpretive guidance. Effective January 1, 2015, Nexstar entered into local service agreements to provide programming and sales services to stations acquired from Communications Corporation of America (“CCA”) and sold to Marshall Broadcasting Group, Inc. (“Marshall”) and stations owned by White Knight Broadcasting (“White Knight”), which were considered as VIEs as of that date.
Certain assets of consolidated VIEs are not available to settle the obligations of Nexstar and there are certain liabilities of consolidated VIEs for which the creditors of the VIEs do not have recourse to the general credit of Nexstar. In previous filings, the Company presented such amounts as separate amounts on its Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company has elected to present these amounts in this and future filings in a combined footnote on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, with footnote disclosure of the related carrying amounts and classification, as follows (in thousands):
Current assets
3,196
12
4,503
18,451
697
74,312
46,727
21,419
1,695
974
Total assets
122,855
49,131
Current liabilities
11,370
7,852
Noncurrent liabilities
27,132
10,018
Total liabilities
38,502
17,870
These balances relate to Parker Broadcasting of Colorado, LLC and were previously not presented separately on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. This correction is not considered material to the Consolidated Financial Statements as of December 31, 2014.
Liquidity
Nexstar is highly leveraged, which makes it vulnerable to changes in general economic conditions. Nexstar’s ability to repay or refinance its debt will depend on, among other things, financial, business, market, competitive and other conditions, many of which are beyond Nexstar’s control.
Interim Financial Statements
The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of March 31, 2015 and for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 are unaudited. However, in the opinion of management, such financial statements include all adjustments (consisting solely of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for the fair statement of the financial information included herein in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The preparation of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year. These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes included in Nexstar’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. The balance sheet as of December 31, 2014 has been derived from the audited financial statements as of that date, but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements.
Variable Interest Entities
The Company may determine that an entity is a VIE as a result of local service agreements entered into with the owner-operator of an entity. The term local service agreements generally refers to a contract between two separately owned television stations serving the same market, whereby the owner-operator of one station contracts with the owner-operator of the other station to provide it with administrative, sales and other services required for the operation of its station. Nevertheless, the owner-operator of each station retains control and responsibility for the operation of its station, including ultimate responsibility over all programming broadcast on its station. A local service agreement can be (1) a time brokerage agreement (“TBA”) which allows Nexstar to program most of a station’s broadcast time, sell the station’s advertising time and retain the advertising revenue generated in exchange for monthly payments, based on the station’s monthly operating expenses, (2) a shared services agreement (“SSA”) which allows the Nexstar station in the market to provide services including news production, technical maintenance and security, in exchange for Nexstar’s right to receive certain payments as described in the SSA, or (3) a joint sales agreement (“JSA”) which permits Nexstar to sell certain of the station’s advertising time and retain a percentage of the related revenue, as described in the JSA.
Consolidated VIEs
Mission Broadcasting, Inc. (“Mission”), Marshall and Parker Broadcasting of Colorado, LLC (“Parker”) are consolidated by Nexstar because Nexstar is deemed under U.S. GAAP to have controlling financial interests in these entities for financial reporting purposes as a result of (1) local service agreements Nexstar has with these stations, (2) Nexstar’s guarantees of the obligations incurred under Mission’s and Marshall’s senior secured credit facilities (see Note 6), (3) Nexstar having power over significant activities affecting these entities’ economic performance, including budgeting for advertising revenue, certain advertising sales and, for Mission and Parker, hiring and firing of sales force personnel and (4) purchase options granted by Mission which permit Nexstar to acquire the assets and assume the liabilities of each Mission station, subject to Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) consent.
Effective January 1, 2015, upon Nexstar’s acquisition of CCA, Nexstar assumed the contractual obligations under CCA’s local service agreements with White Knight, the owner of six television stations in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana and Tyler-Longview, Texas markets. Nexstar evaluated the business arrangements with White Knight and has determined that it has a variable interest in this entity. Nexstar has also determined that it is the primary beneficiary of the variable interest because it has the ultimate power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of White Knight, including management advice and consultation in broadcast matters, the ability to sell certain advertising on the White Knight stations, the production of the White Knight stations’ news and other programming, and oversight and control of sales management personnel. Additionally, Nexstar assumed CCA’s options to acquire the assets and assume the liabilities of each White Knight station, subject to FCC consent. Simultaneous with Nexstar’s acquisition of CCA, Nexstar sold the assets of CCA stations KPEJ and KMSS to Marshall and, as discussed above, Nexstar is the primary beneficiary of Marshall. Therefore, Nexstar consolidated White Knight, KPEJ and KMSS as of January 1, 2015. See Note 3 for additional information with respect to these transactions.
6
The following table summarizes the various local service agreements Nexstar had in effect as of March 31, 2015 with Mission, Marshall, Parker and White Knight:
Service Agreements
Owner
Mission Stations
TBA Only
Mission
WFXP and KHMT
Parker
KFQX
SSA & JSA
KJTL, KJBO-LP, KLRT, KASN, KOLR, KCIT, KCPN-LP, KAMC, KRBC, KSAN, WUTR, WAWV, WYOU, KODE, WTVO, KTVE, WTVW and WVNY
Marshall
KLJB, KPEJ and KMSS
White Knight
WVLA, KZUP, KFXK, KFXL, KLPN, KSHV
Nexstar’s ability to receive cash from Mission, Marshall, Parker and White Knight is governed by the local service agreements. Under these agreements, Nexstar has received substantially all of the consolidated VIEs’ available cash, after satisfaction of operating costs and debt obligations. Nexstar anticipates it will continue to receive substantially all of the consolidated VIEs’ available cash, after satisfaction of operating costs and debt obligations. In compliance with FCC regulations for all the parties, Mission, Marshall, Parker and White Knight maintain complete responsibility for and control over programming, finances, personnel and operations of their stations.
The carrying amounts and classification of the assets and liabilities of the VIEs mentioned above which have been included in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets were as follows (in thousands):
5,662
1,440
Accounts receivable, net
13,645
7,594
9,474
9,389
3,709
2,657
32,490
21,080
32,332
26,235
70,081
35,308
62,368
30,333
24,561
64,858
296,144
224,541
5,561
5,137
11,372
16,961
13,017
284,053
289,161
27,133
328,147
312,196
Non-Consolidated VIEs
Nexstar has an outsourcing agreement with Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation (“Cunningham”), which continues through December 31, 2017. Under the outsourcing agreement, Nexstar provides certain engineering, production, sales and administrative services for WYZZ, the FOX affiliate in the Peoria, Illinois market, through WMBD, the Nexstar television station in that market. During the term of the outsourcing agreement, Nexstar retains the broadcasting revenue and related expenses of WYZZ and is obligated to pay a monthly fee based on the combined operating cash flow of WMBD and WYZZ, as defined in the agreement.
7
Nexstar has determined that it has a variable interest in WYZZ. Nexstar has evaluated its arrangements with Cunningham and has determined that it is not the primary beneficiary of the variable interest in WYZZ because it does not have the ultimate power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the station, including developing the annual operating budget, programming and oversight and control of sales management personnel. Therefore, Nexstar has not consolidated this station under authoritative guidance related to the consolidation of VIEs. Under the outsourcing agreement for WYZZ, Nexstar pays for certain operating expenses, and therefore may have unlimited exposure to any potential operating losses. Nexstar’s management believes that Nexstar’s minimum exposure to loss under the WYZZ outsourcing agreement consists of the fees paid to Cunningham. Additionally, Nexstar indemnifies the owner of WYZZ from and against all liability and claims arising out of or resulting from its activities, acts or omissions in connection with the agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments Nexstar could be required to make for such indemnification is undeterminable at this time.
As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, Nexstar had balances in accounts payable of $0.1 million and $0.5 million, respectively, for fees under this arrangement and had receivables for advertising aired on these stations of $0.5 million and $0.7 million, respectively. Fees incurred under this arrangement of $0.1 million and $0.3 million were included in direct operating expenses in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Financial Instruments
The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value due to their short-term nature. See Note 6 for fair value disclosures related to the Company’s debt.
Income Per Share
Basic income per share is computed by dividing the net income attributable to Nexstar by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted income per share is computed using the weighted-average number of common shares and potentially dilutive common shares outstanding during the period. Potentially dilutive common shares are calculated using the treasury stock method. They consist of stock options and restricted stock units outstanding during the period and reflect the potential dilution that could occur if common stock were issued upon exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock units. The following table shows the amounts used in computing the Company’s diluted shares (in thousands):
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic
Dilutive effect of equity incentive plan instruments
1,060
1,306
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted
Stock options and restricted stock units to acquire Class A common stock excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share were comprised of a weighted average of 1,043,000 shares and 621,000 shares for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, because their impact would have been antidilutive.
Basis of Presentation
Certain prior year financial statement amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on net income or stockholders’ equity as previously reported.
8
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which updates the accounting guidance on revenue recognition. This standard is intended to provide a more robust framework for addressing revenue issues, improve comparability of revenue recognition practices and improve disclosure requirements. The standard is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, with a proposed one year delay. Transition to the new guidance may be done using either a full or modified retrospective method. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the provisions of the accounting standard update.
In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-02, Consolidation (Topic 810) - Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis, to improve certain areas of consolidation guidance for reporting organizations (i.e., public, private and not-for-profit) that are required to evaluate whether to consolidate certain legal entities such as limited partnerships, limited liability corporations, and securitization structures (e.g., collateralized debt/loan obligations). All legal entities are subject to reevaluation under the revised consolidation model. Specifically, the amendments (1) eliminate the presumption that a general partner should consolidate a limited partnership, (2) eliminate the indefinite deferral of FASB Statement No. 167, thereby reducing the number of VIE consolidation models from four to two (including the limited partnership consolidation model), (3) clarify when fees paid to a decision maker should be a factor to include in the consolidation of VIEs, (4) amend the guidance for assessing how related party relationships affect VIE consolidation analysis and (5) exclude certain money market funds from the consolidation guidance. The amendments in this accounting standard are effective for public business entities for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect the implementation of this standard to have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations.
In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, Interest, Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs, which requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability. The amendments in this accounting standard are effective for interim and annual periods ending after December 15, 2015, with early application permitted. The Company does not expect this guidance to have a significant impact on its financial statements, other than a change in the financial statement classification of debt issuance costs. As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, $19.1 million and $17.0 million, respectively, of net debt financing costs were included in other noncurrent assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Under the new guidance, the carrying amount of debt financing costs would reduce the Company’s total debt.
9
3. Acquisitions and Dispositions
CCA
Effective January 1, 2015, Nexstar completed the acquisition of the outstanding equity of privately-held CCA from SP ComCorp LLC (“SP ComCorp”), NexPoint Credit Strategies Fund (“NexPoint”) and Highland Floating Rate Opportunities Fund (“Highland”) and assumed CCA’s rights and obligations under its existing local service agreements with White Knight, for $278.3 million in cash, less a $0.2 million receivable from the sellers representing working capital adjustment. CCA and White Knight, collectively, owned 19 television stations in 10 markets.
A deposit of $27.0 million was paid to CCA in April 2013 upon signing the stock purchase agreement. Nexstar paid the $251.3 million remaining purchase price at closing funded by a combination of cash on hand, term loans borrowed in October 2014 and borrowings from its revolving credit facility in January 2015 (See Note 6). The transaction costs relating to this acquisition, including legal and professional fees of $0.4 million, were expensed as incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2015. Additionally, employment charges of $0.5 million were incurred and included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Simultaneous with Nexstar’s acquisition of CCA, Nexstar sold the assets of CCA stations KPEJ and KMSS to Marshall for $43.3 million in cash, funded primarily by a $43.0 million deposit made in December 2014 arising from Marshall’s term loan. Nexstar also entered into local service agreements with Marshall to perform certain sales and other services for these stations. Additionally, Nexstar sold the assets of CCA station WEVV, the CBS and FOX affiliate serving the Evansville, Indiana market, to Bayou City Broadcasting Evansville, Inc. (“BCB”) for $26.8 million in cash, plus a $0.8 million cash sale of certain real estate properties previously owned by Nexstar (not acquired from CCA). Nexstar recognized a net loss on disposal of $0.5 million in connection with this transaction. There is no relationship between Nexstar and BCB or their respective stations after the sale.
The above transactions allow the Company entrance into 7 new markets and create duopolies in 6 markets. The stations impacted are as follows:
Market
Market Rank
Station
Affiliation
Nexstar:
Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville-McAllen, TX
86
KVEO
NBC/Estrella
Waco-Temple-Bryan, TX
87
KWKT
KYLE
FOX/MyNetworkTV/ Estrella
El Paso, TX
91
KTSM
Baton Rouge, LA
93
WGMB
WBRL
FOX
The CW
Tyler-Longview, TX
108
KETK
Lafayette, LA
124
KADN
KLAF
MyNetworkTV
Alexandria, LA
179
WNTZ
FOX/MyNetworkTV
Marshall:
Shreveport, LA
83
KMSS
Odessa-Midland, TX
146
KPEJ
FOX/Estrella
White Knight:
WVLA
KZUP
NBC
RTV
KFXK
KFXL
KLPN
KSHV
10
As discussed in Note 2, Nexstar is the primary beneficiary of the variable interests in White Knight and Marshall and has consolidated White Knight and the stations Nexstar sold to Marshall, KPEJ and KMSS, into Nexstar’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements beginning January 1, 2015. Accordingly, all effects of the sale between Nexstar and Marshall have been eliminated in consolidation.
The consolidation of the assets and liabilities of White Knight into Nexstar resulted in a noncontrolling interest of $2.9 million, representing the fair value of interest held by the owners as of January 1, 2015, estimated by applying the income approach valuation technique.
The estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the CCA acquisition (net of the effects of the sale of WEVV to BCB), including the consolidation of the assets and liabilities of White Knight, KPEJ and KMSS, are as follows (in thousands):
Cash
1,847
19,624
10,233
Deferred tax assets
247
118
Property and equipment
25,647
71,465
Network affiliation agreements
86,219
Other intangible assets
7,818
119,780
Other assets
59
Total assets acquired
343,057
Less: Broadcast rights payable
(10,467
Less: Accounts payable and accrued expenses
(4,685
Less: Taxes payable
(18,613
Less: Deferred tax liabilities
(55,454
Less: Other noncurrent liabilities
(221
Less: Noncontrolling interest in a consolidated VIE
(2,900
Net assets acquired
250,717
The fair value assigned to goodwill is attributable to future expense reductions utilizing management’s leverage in operating costs. The goodwill, FCC licenses and network affiliation agreements are not deductible for tax purposes. The intangible assets related to the network affiliation agreements are amortized over 15 years and other intangible assets are amortized over an estimated weighted average useful life of five years.
The acquired entities’ net revenue of $24.4 million and operating income of $4.7 million from the date of acquisition to March 31, 2015 have been included in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
11
KASW
Effective January 29, 2015, Nexstar acquired the assets of KASW, the CW affiliate in the Phoenix, Arizona market from Meredith Corporation (“Meredith”) and SagamoreHill of Phoenix, LLC (“SagamoreHill”) for $71.3 million in cash, less a $0.5 million receivable from the sellers representing working capital adjustment. The acquisition allows Nexstar entrance into this market and the purchase price was funded through Nexstar’s $275.0 million 6.125% senior unsecured notes (“6.125% Notes”) and borrowings under Nexstar’s existing credit facility (See Note 6). No significant transaction costs were incurred in connection with this acquisition during the three months ended March 31, 2015.
The estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the acquisition are as follows (in thousands):
3,544
8,771
24
987
35,566
713
32,254
81,859
(10,291
(790
70,778
The fair value assigned to goodwill is attributable to future expense reductions utilizing management’s leverage in programming and other station operating costs. The goodwill and FCC licenses are deductible for tax purposes. The intangible assets related to the network affiliation agreements are amortized over 15 years. Other intangible assets are amortized over an estimated weighted average useful life of 1.5 years.
KASW’s net revenue of $3.5 million and operating income of $1.4 million from the date of acquisition to March 31, 2015 have been included in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Yashi
On February 2, 2015, Nexstar acquired the outstanding equity of Yashi, a local digital video advertising and targeted programmatic technology platform, for $33.4 million in cash, less a $0.4 million receivable from the sellers representing working capital adjustment. The acquisition is expected to broaden Nexstar’s digital media portfolio with technologies and offerings that are complementary to Nexstar’s digital businesses and multi-screen strategies. The purchase price was funded through Nexstar’s 6.125% Notes and borrowings under Nexstar’s existing credit facility (See Note 6). No significant transaction costs were incurred in connection with this acquisition during the three months ended March 31, 2015.
1,472
8,449
114
Software and other intangible assets
22,321
16,904
15
49,275
(7,681
(8,588
33,006
The fair value assigned to goodwill is attributable to future expense reductions utilizing management’s leverage in operating costs. Goodwill and Software and other intangible assets are not deductible for tax purposes. Software and other intangible assets are amortized over an estimated weighted average useful life of four years.
Yashi’s net revenue of $5.8 million and operating income of $0.4 million from the date of acquisition to March 31, 2015 have been included in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
KLAS
On February 13, 2015, Nexstar acquired the outstanding equity of KLAS, LLC, the owner of television station KLAS, the CBS affiliate serving the Las Vegas, Nevada market, from Landmark Television, LLC and Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC, for $150.4 million in cash, plus a $0.6 million payable to the sellers representing working capital adjustment. The acquisition allows Nexstar entrance into this market and the purchase price was funded through Nexstar’s 6.125% Notes and borrowings under Nexstar’s existing credit facility (See Note 6). Transaction costs relating to this acquisition, including legal and professional fees of $0.1 million, were expensed as incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2015.
18
6,474
58
438
19,154
60,627
49,485
35
15,700
Total assets of a consolidated VIE
151,989
(58
(838
Less: Other current liabilities
(117
150,976
The fair value assigned to goodwill is attributable to future expense reductions utilizing management’s leverage in programming and other station operating costs. The goodwill and FCC licenses are deductible for tax purposes. The intangible assets related to the network affiliation agreements are amortized over 15 years. Other intangible assets are amortized over an estimated weighted average useful life of 12 years.
KLAS’ net revenue of $4.8 million and operating income of $1.3 million from the date of acquisition to March 31, 2015 have been included in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
13
Unaudited Pro Forma Information
The acquisitions of KASW, Yashi and KLAS are not significant for financial reporting purposes, both individually and in aggregate. Therefore, pro forma information has not been provided for these acquisitions. The following unaudited pro forma information has been presented for the periods indicated as if the 2014 acquisitions of Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. (“IBS”) and Grant Company, Inc. (“Grant”) had occurred on January 1, 2013 and the 2015 acquisition of CCA and the related consolidation of VIEs had occurred on January 1, 2014 (in thousands):
176,890
22,283
17,114
14,259
9,709
Net income attributable to Nexstar
14,661
9,465
Net income per common share attributable to Nexstar - basic
0.47
0.31
Net income per common share attributable to Nexstar - diluted
0.45
0.30
The above selected unaudited pro forma information is presented for illustrative purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of results of operations in future periods or results that would have been achieved had Nexstar owned IBS, Grant and CCA during the specified periods.
Please refer to Nexstar’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 for more information with respect to IBS and Grant.
Pending Acquisition
KCWI
On October 24, 2014, Nexstar entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of KCWI, the CW affiliate in the Des Moines-Ames, Iowa market, from Pappas Telecasting of Iowa, LLC (“Pappas”) for $3.5 million, subject to adjustments for working capital. A deposit of $0.2 million was paid upon signing the purchase agreement. This acquisition is subject to bankruptcy approval and other customary conditions, and Nexstar expects it to close in the second quarter of 2015.
4. Intangible Assets and Goodwill
Intangible assets subject to amortization consisted of the following (in thousands):
Estimated
March 31, 2015
December 31, 2014
useful life,
in years
Gross
Amortization
Net
614,592
(316,903
297,689
478,888
(310,097
168,791
Other definite-lived
intangible assets
1-15
82,939
(32,968
49,971
52,052
(26,714
25,338
697,531
(349,871
530,940
(336,811
The increases in network affiliation agreements and other definite-lived intangible assets relate to Nexstar’s acquisitions and VIE consolidations, as discussed in Notes 2 and 3.
The following table presents the Company’s estimate of amortization expense for the remainder of 2015, each of the five succeeding years ended December 31 and thereafter for definite-lived intangible assets as of March 31, 2015 (in thousands):
Remainder of 2015
32,696
2016
39,068
2017
36,418
2018
29,315
2019
26,440
2020
21,793
Thereafter
161,930
The amounts recorded to goodwill and FCC licenses were as follows (in thousands):
FCC Licenses
Impairment
302,482
(45,991
371,461
(49,421
Acquisitions and consolidation
of VIEs (See Notes 2 and 3)
184,638
167,658
487,120
539,119
Indefinite-lived intangible assets are not subject to amortization, but are tested for impairment annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that such assets might be impaired. As of March 31, 2015, the Company did not identify any events that would trigger impairment assessment.
5. Accrued Expenses
Accrued expenses consisted of the following (in thousands):
Compensation and related taxes
9,299
9,918
Sales commissions
4,056
3,108
Employee benefits
2,425
2,410
Property taxes
1,442
886
Other
20,874
20,485
6. Debt
Long-term debt consisted of the following (in thousands):
Term loans, net of discount of $1,639 and $1,725, respectively
701,450
705,054
Revolving loans
42,000
5,500
6.875% Senior unsecured notes due 2020, including premium of $569 and $590, respectively
525,569
525,590
6.125% Senior unsecured notes due 2022
275,000
1,544,019
1,236,144
Less: current portion
(17,189
(15,840
2015 Transactions
On January 29, 2015, Nexstar completed the issuance and sale of $275.0 million 6.125% Notes at par. The proceeds from these notes were used to partially finance acquisitions and to pay for related fees and expenses (See Note 3). Interest on the 6.125% Notes is payable semiannually in arrears on February 15 and August 15 of each year commencing on August 15, 2015. The notes are senior unsecured obligations of Nexstar and are guaranteed by Mission and certain of Nexstar’s and Mission’s future 100% owned subsidiaries, subject to certain customary release provisions. The notes will mature on February 15, 2022.
The 6.125% Notes are senior obligations of Nexstar and Mission but junior to the secured debt, including Nexstar’s, Mission’s and Marshall’s senior secured credit facilities to the extent of the value of the assets securing such debt. The 6.125% Notes rank equal to the 6.875% senior unsecured notes (“6.875% Notes”).
On January 30, 2015, Mission repaid the outstanding principal balance under its revolving credit facility of $5.5 million.
In January and February 2015, Nexstar borrowed a total of $134.9 million under its revolving credit facility, less repayments of $94.9 million during the period. The net proceeds from these borrowings were used to partially finance the acquisitions discussed in Note 3. In April 2015, Nexstar repaid the outstanding principal balance under its revolving credit facility of $30.0 million funded by cash on hand.
In January and March 2015, Marshall borrowed a total of $2.0 million under its revolving credit facility.
In March 2015, Nexstar, Mission and Marshall paid the contractual maturities under their senior secured credit facilities of $2.5 million, $0.5 million and $0.7 million, respectively.
Unused Commitments and Borrowing Availability
The Company had $63.0 million of total unused revolving loan commitments under its amended senior secured credit facilities, all of which was available for borrowing, based on the covenant calculations as of March 31, 2015. The Company’s ability to access funds under its senior secured credit facilities depends, in part, on its compliance with certain financial covenants. In April 2015, Nexstar repaid the outstanding principal balance under its revolving credit facility of $30.0 million. As of March 31, 2015, Nexstar was in compliance with all of its covenants.
Collateralization and Guarantees of Debt
The Company’s senior secured credit facilities are collateralized by a security interest in substantially all the combined assets, excluding FCC licenses and the other assets of consolidated VIEs unavailable to creditors of Nexstar (See Note 2). Nexstar guarantees full payment of all obligations incurred under the Mission and Marshall senior secured credit facilities in the event of their default. Similarly, Mission and Marshall are guarantors of the Nexstar senior secured credit facility. Mission is also a guarantor of Nexstar’s 6.875% Notes and 6.125% Notes. Marshall is not a guarantor of either the 6.875% Notes or the 6.125% Notes. White Knight and Parker do not guarantee Nexstar’s debt.
16
Fair Value of Debt
The aggregate carrying amounts and estimated fair values of the Company’s debt were as follows (in thousands):
Carrying
Fair
Value
Term loans(1)
697,180
697,420
Revolving loans(1)
41,131
5,386
6.875% Senior unsecured notes(2)
557,813
547,313
6.125% Senior unsecured notes(2)
283,938
The fair value of senior secured credit facilities is computed based on borrowing rates currently available to the Company for bank loans with similar terms and average maturities. These fair value measurements are considered Level 3, as significant inputs to the fair value calculation are unobservable in the market.
(2)
The fair value of the Company’s fixed rate debt is estimated based on bid prices obtained from an investment banking firm that regularly makes a market for these financial instruments. These fair value measurements are considered Level 2, as quoted market prices are available for low volume trading of these securities.
7. FCC Regulatory Matters
Television broadcasting is subject to the jurisdiction of the FCC under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the “Communications Act”). The Communications Act prohibits the operation of television broadcasting stations except under a license issued by the FCC, and empowers the FCC, among other things, to issue, revoke and modify broadcasting licenses, determine the location of television stations, regulate the equipment used by television stations, adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of the Communications Act and impose penalties for the violation of such regulations. The FCC’s ongoing rule making proceedings could have a significant future impact on the television industry and on the operation of the Company’s stations and the stations to which it provides services. In addition, the U.S. Congress may act to amend the Communications Act or adopt other legislation in a manner that could impact the Company’s stations, the stations to which it provides services and the television broadcast industry in general.
The FCC has adopted rules with respect to the final conversion of existing low power and television translator stations to digital operations. The FCC has established a September 1, 2015 deadline by which low power and television translator stations must cease analog operations, but it recently has suspended that deadline pending action in an ongoing rulemaking proceeding.
Media Ownership
The FCC is required to review its media ownership rules every four years and to eliminate those rules it finds no longer serve the “public interest, convenience and necessity.”
In March 2014, the FCC initiated its 2014 quadrennial review with the adoption of a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”). The FNPRM incorporates the record of the uncompleted 2010 quadrennial review proceeding and solicits comment on proposed changes to the media ownership rules. Among the proposals in the FNPRM are (1) retention of the current local television ownership rule (but with modifications to certain service contour definitions to conform to digital television broadcasting), (2) elimination of the radio/television cross-ownership rule, (3) elimination of the newspaper/radio cross-ownership rule, and (4) retention of the newspaper/television cross-ownership rule, while considering waivers of that rule in certain circumstances. The FNPRM also proposes to define a category of sharing agreements designated as SSAs between television stations, and to require television stations to disclose those SSAs. Comments and reply comments on the FNPRM were filed in the third quarter of 2014.
Concurrently with its adoption of the FNPRM, the FCC also adopted a rule making television JSAs attributable to the seller of advertising time in certain circumstances. Under this rule, where a party owns a full-power television station in a market and sells more than 15% of the weekly advertising time for another, non-owned station in the same market under a JSA, that party will be deemed to have an attributable interest in the latter station for purposes of the local television ownership rule. Parties to newly attributable JSAs that do not comply with the local television ownership rule were given two years to modify or terminate their JSAs to come into compliance. Congressional legislation signed into law in late 2014 extended this compliance period for an additional six months, and the compliance deadline is now December 19, 2016. Although the FCC has indicated that it will consider waivers of the new JSA attribution rule, the FCC thus far has not granted any such waiver and has provided little guidance on what factors must be present for a waiver to be granted. Various parties, including Nexstar (and Mission, which has intervened), have appealed this new rule to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. If Nexstar is required to amend or terminate its existing agreements with Mission and others, the Company could have a reduction in revenue and could incur increased costs if it is unable to successfully implement alternative arrangements that are as beneficial as the existing JSAs.
17
Spectrum
The FCC has initiated various proceedings to assess the availability of spectrum to meet future wireless broadband needs. The FCC’s March 2010 “National Broadband Plan” recommends the reallocation of 120 megahertz of the spectrum currently used for broadcast television for wireless broadband use. The FCC has thus far adopted rules permitting television stations to share a single 6 megahertz channel and requested comment on proposals that include, among other things, whether to add new frequency allocations in the television bands for licensed fixed and mobile wireless uses and whether to implement technical rule modifications to improve the viability of certain channels that are underutilized by digital television stations. In February 2012, the U.S. Congress adopted legislation authorizing the FCC to conduct an incentive auction whereby television broadcasters could voluntarily relinquish their spectrum in exchange for consideration. In June 2014, the FCC released a Report and Order in which it adopted a framework for the auction. This Report and Order is the subject of a pending court appeal. In December 2014, the FCC released a public notice proposing certain procedures that the FCC will follow in the incentive auction and the subsequent “repacking” of broadcast television spectrum. Comments on this public notice were filed in the first quarter of 2015. The FCC is deciding additional issues related to the incentive auction, including still-outstanding technical issues, in other proceedings. The FCC has stated its intention to conduct the incentive auction in 2016. The reallocation of television spectrum for wireless broadband use will require some television stations to change channel or otherwise modify their technical facilities. Future steps to reallocate television spectrum to broadband use may be to the detriment of the Company’s investment in digital facilities, could require substantial additional investment to continue current operations, and may require viewers to invest in additional equipment or subscription services to continue receiving broadcast television signals. The Company cannot predict the timing or results of television spectrum reallocation efforts or their impact to its business.
Retransmission Consent
On March 3, 2011, the FCC initiated a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to reexamine its rules (i) governing the requirements for good faith negotiations between multichannel video program distributors (“MVPDs”) and broadcasters, including implementing a prohibition on one station negotiating retransmission consent terms for another station under a local service agreement; (ii) for providing advance notice to consumers in the event of dispute; and (iii) to extend certain cable-only obligations to all MVPDs. The FCC also asked for comment on eliminating the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity protection rules, which may permit MVPDs to import out-of-market television stations during a retransmission consent dispute.
In March 2014, the FCC adopted a rule that prohibits joint retransmission consent negotiation between television stations in the same market which are not commonly owned and which are ranked among the top four stations in the market in terms of audience share. This new rule requires Nexstar, Mission and other independent third parties with which Nexstar has local service agreements to separately negotiate retransmission consent agreements for certain of their stations. This new rule is now effective and is the subject of a pending court appeal. On December 5, 2014, federal legislation extended the joint negotiation prohibition to all non-commonly owned television stations in a market. This legislation also directed the FCC to commence a rulemaking to “review its totality of the circumstances test for good faith [retransmission consent] negotiations.” The FCC has not yet commenced this proceeding, and we cannot predict its outcome.
Concurrently with its adoption of the prohibition on certain joint retransmission consent negotiation, the FCC also adopted a further notice of proposed rulemaking which seeks comment on the elimination or modification of the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity rules. The FCC’s prohibition on certain joint retransmission consent negotiations and its possible elimination or modification of the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity protection rules may affect the Company’s ability to sustain its current level of retransmission consent revenues or grow such revenues in the future and could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. The Company cannot predict the resolution of the FCC’s network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity proposals, or the impact of these proposals or the FCC’s new prohibition on certain joint negotiations, on its business.
Further, certain online video distributors and other over-the-top video distributors (“OTTDs”) have begun streaming broadcast programming over the Internet. In June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court held that an OTTD’s retransmissions of broadcast television programs without the consent of the broadcast station violate the copyright holders’ exclusive right to perform their works publicly as provided under the Copyright Act. In December 2014, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to interpret the term “MVPD” to encompass OTTDs that make available for purchase multiple streams of video programming distributed at a prescheduled time, and seeking comment on the effects of applying MVPD rules to such OTTDs. Comments and reply comments were filed in the first and second quarters of 2015 and we cannot predict the outcome of the proceeding. However, if the FCC ultimately determines that an OTTD is not an MVPD, or declines to apply certain rules governing MVPDs to OTTDs, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
8. Commitments and Contingencies
Guarantees of Mission and Marshall Debt
Nexstar guarantees full payment of all obligations incurred under Mission’s and Marshall’s senior secured credit facilities. In the event that Mission and/or Marshall are unable to repay amounts due, Nexstar will be obligated to repay such amounts. The maximum potential amount of future payments that Nexstar would be required to make under this guarantee would be generally limited to the amount of borrowings outstanding. As of March 31, 2015, Mission had a maximum commitment of $237.2 million under its senior secured credit facility, of which $229.2 million of debt was outstanding, and Marshall had used all of its commitment and had outstanding obligations of $60.4 million.
Indemnification Obligations
In connection with certain agreements into which the Company enters in the normal course of its business, including local service agreements, business acquisitions and borrowing arrangements, the Company enters into contractual arrangements under which the Company agrees to indemnify the other party to such arrangement from losses, claims and damages incurred by the indemnified party for certain events as defined within the particular contract. Such indemnification obligations may not be subject to maximum loss clauses and the maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification arrangements may be unlimited. Historically, payments made related to these indemnifications have been immaterial and the Company has not incurred significant costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification agreements.
Litigation
From time to time, the Company is involved with claims that arise out of the normal course of its business. In the opinion of management, any resulting liability with respect to these claims would not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
19
9. Condensed Consolidating Financial Information
The following condensed consolidating financial information presents the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company, including its 100%, directly or indirectly, owned subsidiaries and its consolidated VIEs. This information is presented in lieu of separate financial statements and other related disclosures pursuant to Regulation S-X Rule 3-10 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, “Financial Statements of Guarantors and Issuers of Guaranteed Securities Registered or Being Registered.”
The Nexstar column presents the parent company’s financial information (not including any subsidiaries). Nexstar owns 100% of Nexstar Finance Holdings, Inc. (“Nexstar Holdings”), which owns 100% of Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. (“Nexstar Broadcasting”). The Nexstar Holdings column presents its financial information (not including any subsidiaries). The Nexstar Broadcasting column presents its financial information. The Mission column presents the financial information of Mission, an entity which Nexstar Broadcasting is required to consolidate as a VIE (see Note 2). The Non-Guarantors column presents the combined financial information of Nexstar Holdings (not including any subsidiaries) and other VIEs consolidated by Nexstar Broadcasting (See Note 2).
Nexstar Broadcasting’s outstanding 6.875% Notes and 6.125% Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, by Nexstar and Mission, subject to certain customary release provisions. These notes are not guaranteed by any other entities.
20
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET
As of March 31, 2015
(in thousands)
Nexstar
Non-
Consolidated
Broadcasting
Guarantors
Eliminations
Company
38,922
3,137
2,525
Amounts due from consolidated entities
28,177
(28,177
Other current assets
210,226
19,415
7,413
237,054
249,148
50,729
9,938
Investments in subsidiaries
118,702
38,931
133,944
(291,577
1,564
13,674
(15,238
245,505
23,596
8,736
371,048
32,489
37,592
415,387
41,563
32,748
285,292
20,700
41,668
40,627
20,210
4,352
120,266
1,659,612
189,287
268,978
(334,992
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY (DEFICIT)
11,628
1,961
3,600
Amounts due to consolidated entities
22,100
6,077
107,824
6,431
4,969
119,224
141,552
8,392
14,646
1,242,777
227,288
56,765
15,238
(3
141,339
7,764
19,371
168,471
1,525,668
243,444
106,020
(43,415
Stockholders' equity (deficit)
120,269
(54,157
162,958
Total liabilities and stockholders'
equity (deficit)
21
As of December 31, 2014
130,472
880
560
29,867
(29,867
166,112
17,972
1,668
185,752
296,584
48,719
2,228
109,834
125,076
(234,910
1,476
13,764
(15,240
211,504
24,166
2,069
221,183
2,819
275,313
5,164
163,796
21,310
9,023
65,451
23,818
44,893
111,310
1,247,595
192,065
191,272
(280,017
10,703
1,837
3,300
29,026
841
73,546
6,713
1,167
81,426
113,275
8,550
5,308
931,143
233,357
55,804
15,240
78,101
8,667
1,353
88,118
1,122,519
250,574
77,705
(45,107
Stockholders' equity (deficit):
111,313
(58,509
113,567
22
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
Three Months Ended March 31, 2015
Net broadcast revenue (including trade and barter)
183,046
12,110
8,235
Revenue between consolidated entities
6,469
8,554
1,926
(16,949
189,515
20,664
10,161
Direct operating expenses, excluding depreciation
and amortization
61,527
5,188
2,970
Selling, general, and administrative expenses,
excluding depreciation and amortization
55,121
862
Local service agreement fees between consolidated
entities
10,480
2,445
4,024
11,662
1,468
1,451
10,691
610
1,759
9,999
602
271
159,480
11,175
11,781
30,035
9,489
(1,620
(16,580
(2,316
(397
Equity in income of subsidiaries
8,868
(17,736
13,337
7,173
6,851
(4,469
(2,821
709
7,560
Net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interests
8,555
23
Three Months Ended March 31, 2014
124,953
8,880
9,648
(12,093
127,398
18,528
37,483
4,366
40,217
823
7,142
1,490
5,420
773
7,686
733
107,596
10,630
19,802
7,898
(12,677
(2,493
4,049
(8,098
6,997
5,405
(2,948
(2,101
3,304
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Cash flows from operating activities
40,900
8,106
620
(6,545
(32
176
Deposits and payments for acquisitions
(503,200
(79
43,300
Proceeds from sale of stations
70,105
(43,300
Other investing activities
727
150
(176
Net cash (used in) provided by
investing activities
(438,913
97
409,950
2,000
(97,431
(5,959
(750
Inter-company payments
4,456
(4,456
Other financing activities
(1,600
(8
(2
(145
Net cash provided by (used in)
financing activities
306,463
(5,967
1,248
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash
equivalents
(91,550
2,257
1,965
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning
of period
Cash and cash equivalents at end of
period
25
46,269
(1,538
(3,899
(84
(25,942
(2,155
(1,455
4,481
(4,481
(72
45
Net cash used in financing activities
(6,626
(1,527
Net increase (decrease) in cash and
cash equivalents
13,701
36,312
3,716
Cash and cash equivalents at end
50,013
567
26
10.
Subsequent Events
On April 13, 2015, Nexstar repaid the outstanding principal balance of $30.0 million under its revolving credit facility, funded by cash on hand.
On April 24, 2015, Nexstar’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share of its Class A common stock. The dividend is payable on May 29, 2015 to stockholders of record on May 15, 2015.
27
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.
As used in the report, unless the context indicates otherwise, “Nexstar” refers to Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries Nexstar Finance Holdings, Inc. (“Nexstar Holdings”) and Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. (“Nexstar Broadcasting”). “Mission” refers to Mission Broadcasting, Inc.; “Marshall” refers to Marshall Broadcasting Group, Inc.; and all references to the “Company” refer to Nexstar, Mission, Marshall and other consolidated VIEs collectively. All references to “we,” “our,” “ours” and “us” refer to Nexstar.
As a result of our deemed controlling financial interests in the consolidated VIEs in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we consolidate the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of these VIEs as if they were wholly-owned entities. We believe this presentation is meaningful for understanding our financial performance. Refer to Note 2 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of our determination that we are required to consolidate these entities’ financial position, results of operations and cash flows under the authoritative guidance for variable interest entities. Therefore, the following discussion of our financial position and results of operations includes the consolidated VIEs’ financial position and results of operations.
Executive Summary
2015 Highlights
·
Net revenue during the first quarter of 2015 increased by $69.6 million, or 52.0% compared to the same period in 2014. The increase in net revenue was primarily due to incremental revenue from our newly acquired stations and entities of $58.6 million and an increase in retransmission compensation on our legacy stations of $16.4 million, primarily related to the 2014 renewal of contracts providing for higher rates per subscriber. These increases were partially offset by decreases in advertising revenue due to 2015 not being a political or an Olympic year.
On July 1, 2015, KLAF, our station serving the Lafayette, Louisiana market will launch as an NBC affiliate. Previously, Lafayette has not had an in-market NBC affiliate. KLAF will operate in conjunction with our FOX affiliate station in this market, KADN. Additionally, KYLE, our station serving the Waco-Temple-Bryan, Texas market will launch as a MyNetworkTV affiliate. KYLE will operate in conjunction with our FOX affiliate station in this market, KWKT. Previously, there was no stand-alone MyNetworkTV affiliate serving Waco-Temple-Bryan, Texas market and KYLE and KWKT shared MyNetworkTV and FOX affiliations.
During the first quarter of 2015, our Board of Directors declared dividends of $0.19 per share of Nexstar’s outstanding common stock, or total dividend payments of $5.9 million.
Effective January 1, 2015, we completed the acquisition of the outstanding equity of privately-held CCA as well as CCA’s rights and obligations with respect to certain operating agreements CCA had with White Knight from SP ComCorp, NexPoint and Highland for a total consideration of $278.3 million in cash, less a $0.2 million receivable from the sellers representing working capital adjustment. CCA and White Knight, collectively, owned 19 television stations in 10 markets. We paid a deposit of $27.0 million to CCA in April 2013 and the remaining purchase price of $251.3 million was funded at closing by a combination of cash on hand, proceeds from term loans borrowed in October 2014 and borrowings from our revolving credit facility in January 2015. Simultaneous with this acquisition, we sold the assets of two CCA stations, KPEJ and KMSS, to Marshall for $43.3 million in cash, funded primarily by a $43.0 million deposit made in December 2014 arising from Marshall’s term loan borrowings. We also entered into local service agreements with Marshall to perform certain sales and other services for these stations. Additionally, we sold the assets of a CCA station, WEVV, the CBS and FOX affiliate serving the Evansville, Indiana market, to BCB for $26.8 million in cash, plus a $0.8 million cash sale of certain real estate properties previously owned by Nexstar (not acquired from CCA). Nexstar recognized a net loss on disposal of $0.5 million in connection with this transaction. There is no relationship between Nexstar and BCB or their respective stations after the sale.
Effective January 29, 2015, we acquired the assets of KASW, the CW affiliate in the Phoenix, Arizona market, from Meredith and SagamoreHill for $71.3 million in cash, less a $0.5 million receivable from the sellers representing working capital adjustment. We funded the purchase price through our 6.125% Notes and borrowings under our existing credit facility. This acquisition allows us entrance into this market.
On February 2, 2015, we acquired the outstanding equity of Yashi, a local digital video advertising and targeted programmatic technology platform, for $33.4 million in cash, less a $0.4 million receivable from the sellers representing working capital adjustment. This acquisition is expected to broaden our digital media portfolio with technologies and offerings that are complementary to our digital businesses and multi-screen strategies. The purchase price was funded through our 6.125% Notes and borrowings under our existing credit facility.
On February 13, 2015, we acquired the outstanding equity of KLAS, LLC, the owner of television station KLAS, the CBS affiliate serving the Las Vegas, Nevada market, from Landmark Television and Landmark Media for $150.4 million in cash, plus a $0.6 million payable to the sellers representing working capital adjustment. We funded the purchase price through our 6.125% Notes and borrowings under our existing credit facility. This acquisition allows us entrance into this market.
On January 29, 2015, we completed the issuance and sale of $275.0 million 6.125% Notes due 2022 at par. The notes are our senior unsecured obligations and are guaranteed by Mission and certain of our and Mission’s future 100% owned subsidiaries, subject to certain customary release provisions. In January and February 2015, we borrowed a net amount of $40.0 million under our revolving credit facility. The proceeds from our 6.125% Notes and borrowings under our revolving credit facility were used to partially finance the CCA, KASW, Yashi and KLAS acquisitions and to pay for related fees and expenses. In April 2015, we repaid the $30.0 million outstanding principal balance under our revolving credit facility funded by cash on hand.
In March 2015, we, Mission and Marshall repaid the contractual maturities under each of our term loans, for a total of $3.7 million.
Overview of Operations
As of March 31, 2015, we owned, operated, programmed or provided sales and other services to 107 television stations and 36 digital multicast channels, including those owned by VIEs, in 58 markets in the states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. The stations are affiliates of ABC (20 stations), NBC (20 stations), FOX (28 stations), CBS (17 stations), The CW (10 stations and 2 digital multicast channels), MyNetworkTV (10 stations and 4 digital multicast channels), Telemundo (one station and one digital multicast channel), RTV (one station), Bounce TV (9 digital multicast channels), Me-TV (9 digital multicast channels), Estrella (6 digital multicast channels), LATV (one digital multicast channel), This TV (one digital multicast channel), Weather Nation Utah (one digital multicast channel), Movies! (one digital multicast channel) and News/Weather (one digital multicast channel). Through various local service agreements, we provided sales, programming and other services to 31 stations and 6 digital multicast channels owned and/or operated by independent third parties. See Note 2—Variable Interest Entities to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q for a discussion of the local service agreements we have with these independent third parties.
We also guarantee all obligations incurred under Mission’s and Marshall’s senior secured credit facilities. Similarly, Mission and Marshall are guarantors of our senior secured credit facility. Mission is also a guarantor of our 6.875% Notes and 6.125% Notes but Marshall is not a guarantor of these notes. In consideration of our guarantee of Mission’s senior secured credit facility, Mission has granted us purchase options to acquire the assets and assume the liabilities of each Mission station, subject to FCC consent, for an amount equal to the greater of (1) seven times the station’s cash flow, as defined in the option agreement, less the amount of its indebtedness, as defined in the option agreement, or (2) the amount of its indebtedness. Additionally, we have an option to purchase any or all of Mission’s stock, subject to FCC consent, for a price equal to the pro rata portion of the greater of (1) five times the Mission stations’ cash flow, as defined in the agreement, reduced by the amount of indebtedness, as defined in the agreement, or (2) $100,000. These option agreements (which expire on various dates between 2017 and 2024) are freely exercisable or assignable by us without consent or approval by Mission or its shareholders. We expect these option agreements to be renewed upon expiration.
We do not own Mission, Marshall, Parker and White Knight or their television stations. However, we are deemed under U.S. GAAP to have controlling financial interests in these entities because of (1) the local service agreements Nexstar has with their stations, (2) our guarantees of the obligations incurred under Mission’s and Marshall’s senior secured credit facilities, (3) our power over significant activities affecting their economic performance, including budgeting for advertising revenue, advertising sales and, for Mission, Parker and White Knight, hiring and firing of sales force personnel and (4) purchase options granted by Mission and White Knight that permit Nexstar to acquire the assets and assume the liabilities of each Mission and White Knight station, subject to FCC consent. In compliance with FCC regulations for all the parties, each of Mission, Marshall, Parker and White Knight maintain complete responsibility for and control over programming, finances and personnel for their stations.
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Industry Trends
As a television broadcaster, the Company is highly regulated and its operations require that it retain or renew a variety of government approvals and comply with changing federal regulations. In 2014, the FCC modified its television ownership rules such that a television licensee that sells more than 15 percent of the weekly advertising inventory of another television station in the same Designated Market Area is deemed to have an attributable ownership interest in that station. Parties to existing JSAs that would be deemed attributable interests and do not comply with the FCC’s local television ownership rule were given until December 19, 2016 to come into compliance. Although the FCC has indicated that it will consider waivers of the new JSA attribution rule, the FCC thus far has not granted any such waiver and has provided little guidance on what factors must be present for a waiver to be granted. The Company expects to incur additional costs in complying with this new rule. The Company does not expect the new rules to impact its JSA revenue in 2015; however, the Company may begin to be negatively impacted by the new JSA attribution rule in 2016. If the Company is unable to obtain waivers from the FCC and is required to amend or terminate its existing agreements, the Company could have a reduction in revenue and increased costs if it is unable to successfully implement alternative arrangements that are as beneficial as the existing JSAs. Various parties, including us (and Mission, which has intervened), have appealed this new rule to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
In March 2014, the FCC’s Media Bureau issued a public notice announcing “processing guidelines” for certain pending and future applications for FCC approval of television acquisitions. The public notice indicates that the FCC will “closely scrutinize” applications which propose a JSA, SSA or local marketing agreement (“LMA”) between television stations, combined with an option, a similar “contingent interest,” or a loan guarantee. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has dismissed an appeal of the processing guidelines. These new processing guidelines have impacted the Company’s previously announced acquisitions and may affect the Company’s acquisition of additional stations in the future.
Also in March 2014, the FCC amended its rules governing retransmission consent negotiations. The amended rule initially prohibited two non-commonly owned stations ranked in the top four in viewership in a market from negotiating jointly with MVPDs. On December 5, 2014, federal legislation extended the joint negotiation prohibition to all non-commonly owned television stations in a market. Mission, Marshall, Parker and White Knight are now required to separately negotiate their future retransmission consent agreements with MVPDs for certain of their stations. We cannot predict at this time the impact this amended rule will have on future negotiations with MVPDs and the impact, if any, it will have on the Company’s revenues and expenses.
Seasonality
Advertising revenue is positively affected by strong local economies, national and regional political election campaigns, and certain events such as the Olympic Games or the Super Bowl. The Company’s stations’ advertising revenue is generally highest in the second and fourth quarters of each year, due in part to increases in consumer advertising in the spring and retail advertising in the period leading up to, and including, the holiday season. In addition, advertising revenue is generally higher during even-numbered years, when state, congressional and presidential elections occur and advertising airs during the Olympic Games. 2015 is not an election year or an Olympic year.
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Historical Performance
Revenue
The following table sets forth the amounts of the Company’s principal types of revenue (in thousands) and each type of revenue (other than trade and barter) as a percentage of total gross revenue:
Three Months Ended March 31,
%
Local
84,524
40.7
65,642
47.1
National
35,578
17.1
27,189
19.5
Political
360
0.2
4,003
2.9
Retransmission compensation
66,564
32.1
35,129
25.2
Digital media revenue
19,312
9.3
6,277
4.5
1,201
0.6
981
0.8
Total gross revenue
207,539
100.0
139,221
Less: Agency commissions
(15,541
(12,516
Net broadcast revenue
191,998
126,705
Trade and barter revenue
11,393
7,128
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth a summary of the Company’s operations (in thousands) and each component of operating expense as a percentage of net revenue:
Corporate expenses
11,683
5.7
8,504
6.4
Station direct operating expenses, net of trade
67,806
33.3
40,379
30.2
Station selling, general and administrative expenses
45,606
22.4
32,536
24.3
Trade and barter expense
11,298
5.6
5.3
6.3
6.5
4.6
2.6
2.2
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Three Months Ended March 31, 2015 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2014
Gross local advertising revenue was $84.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $65.6 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $18.9 million, or 28.8%. Gross national advertising revenue was $35.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $27.2 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $8.4 million, or 30.9%. The increase in local and national advertising revenue was primarily attributable to incremental revenue from our newly acquired stations of $30.9 million. Our legacy stations’ local and national advertising revenue decreased by $3.7 million primarily due to prior year advertising revenue from the Olympics on our NBC affiliate stations. Our largest advertiser category, automotive, represented 23.9% and 24.2% of our legacy stations’ local and national advertising revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Overall, this category decreased by 2.1% for our legacy stations. The other categories representing the Company’s top five for its legacy stations were fast food/restaurants, which decreased 2.0%, furniture, which increased 1.4%, radio/TV/cable/newspaper, which decreased 8.1%, and medical/healthcare, which increased 9.0%.
Gross political advertising revenue was $0.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $4.0 million for the same period in 2014, a decrease of $3.6 million, due to 2015 not being an election year.
Retransmission compensation was $66.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $35.1 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $31.4 million, or 89.5%. The increase in retransmission compensation was attributable to a $16.4 million increase on our legacy stations, primarily related to the 2014 renewal of contracts providing for higher rates per subscriber, and a $15.0 million incremental revenue from our newly acquired stations.
Digital media revenue, representing advertising revenue on our stations’ web and mobile sites and other internet-based revenue, was $19.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $6.3 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $13.0 million. The increase was primarily attributable to incremental revenue from our newly acquired stations and entities of $12.3 million.
Operating Expenses
Corporate expenses, related to costs associated with the centralized management of our stations, were $11.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $8.5 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $3.2 million, or 37.4%. This was primarily attributable to an increase in stock-based compensation expense of $1.2 million due to equity incentive awards in January 2015, an increase in payroll expense of $0.9 million related to the increased number of stations and an increase in legal and professional fees of $0.5 million associated with our acquisitions of stations and entities.
Station direct operating expenses, consisting primarily of news, engineering, programming and station selling, general and administrative expenses (net of trade expense) were $113.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $72.9 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $40.5 million, or 55.5%. The increase was primarily due to expenses of our newly acquired stations and entities of $30.4 million and an increase in programming costs for our legacy stations of $7.1 million primarily related to recently enacted network affiliation agreements. Network affiliation fees have been increasing industry wide and will continue to increase over the next several years.
Depreciation of property and equipment was $10.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $8.4 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $2.5 million, or 29.1%, primarily due to the incremental depreciation of fixed assets from the Company’s newly acquired stations and entities and an increase in depreciation from purchased software during 2014 and during the first quarter of 2015, partially offset by decreases in depreciation from certain fully depreciated property and equipment.
Amortization of intangible assets was $13.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $6.2 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $6.9 million. The increase was primarily attributable to incremental amortization of other intangible assets from the stations and entities acquired in 2014 and 2015, partially offset by decreases in amortization from certain fully amortized intangible assets.
Amortization of broadcast rights, excluding barter was $5.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $3.0 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $2.2 million, or 74.4%, primarily attributable to incremental amortization from the Company’s newly acquired stations of $2.6 million.
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Interest Expense
Interest expense, net was $19.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $15.2 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $4.1 million, or 26.9%, primarily attributable to increased borrowings during 2015 and 2014 to fund the Company’s acquisitions. This increase was partially offset by lower interest rates on the Company’s outstanding debt.
Income Taxes
Income tax expense was $6.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $5.0 million for the same period in 2014, an increase of $1.5 million, or 30.3%. The effective tax rates for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 were 35.6% and 40.7%, respectively. The decrease in the effective tax rate primarily relates to the acquisitions of CCA, White Knight and KLAS, which resulted in reductions to the state tax rate applied to the pre-existing net deferred tax liabilities and pre-tax book income. The reduction was due to the location of these companies and assets in jurisdictions with lower tax rates.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Company is highly leveraged, which makes us vulnerable to changes in general economic conditions. The Company’s ability to meet the future cash requirements described below depends on its ability to generate cash in the future, which is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other conditions, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Based on current operations and anticipated future growth, the Company believes that its available cash, anticipated cash flow from operations and available borrowings under the senior secured credit facilities will be sufficient to fund working capital, capital expenditure requirements, interest payments and scheduled debt principal payments for at least the next twelve months. In order to meet future cash needs, we may, from time to time, borrow under our existing senior secured credit facility or issue other long- or short-term debt or equity, if the market and the terms of our existing debt arrangements permit, and Mission and Marshall may, from time to time, borrow under their existing senior secured credit facilities. The Company will continue to evaluate the best use of its operating cash flow among its capital expenditures, acquisitions and debt reduction.
Overview
The following tables present summarized financial information management believes is helpful in evaluating the Company’s liquidity and capital resources (in thousands):
Cash paid for interest
Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds(1)
The cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds, during the three months ended March 31, 2015 includes the payment of $5.9 million in taxes related to the tax gain on sale of a station to Marshall.
As of
Long-term debt including current portion
Unused revolving loan commitments under senior secured credit facilities(1)
63,000
99,500
Based on covenant calculations as of March 31, 2015, all of the $63.0 million unused revolving loan commitments under the Company’s senior secured credit facilities were available for borrowing.
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Cash Flows – Operating Activities
Net cash flows provided by operating activities increased by $5.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. This was primarily due to an increase in net revenue of $69.6 million less an increase in station and corporate operating expenses (excluding stock compensation) of $42.5 million. These transactions were partially offset by a $3.0 million use of cash resulting from timing of collections of accounts receivable, a $7.3 million use of cash due to the timing of payments to vendors, an increase in payments for income taxes of $5.9 million, an increase in cash paid for interest of $0.9 million and an increase in payments for broadcast rights of $2.1 million.
Cash paid for interest increased by $0.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, primarily due to increased borrowings during 2015 and 2014 to fund the Company’s acquisitions. This increase was partially offset by lower interest rates on the Company’s outstanding debt.
Cash Flows – Investing Activities
Net cash flows used in investing activities increased by $412.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. In 2015, we completed the acquisitions of CCA, KASW, Yashi and KLAS for total payments of $460.0 million. Simultaneous with our acquisition of CCA, we sold a station owned by CCA for $26.8 million in cash and certain real estate properties we owned for $0.8 million in cash. In 2014, we completed the acquisitions of KCAU, WHBF and WOI and paid the remaining purchase price of $22.1 million.
Capital expenditures during the three months ended March 31, 2015 increased by $2.4 million compared to the same period in 2014 primarily due to capital expenditures for newly acquired stations and entities.
Cash Flows – Financing Activities
Net cash flows provided by financing activities were $301.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to net cash used in financing activities of $8.2 million for the same period in 2014.
In 2015, the net cash flows provided by financing activities were primarily due to our sale and issuance of $275.0 million 6.125% Notes due 2022 at par. We also borrowed a net amount of $40.0 million under our revolving credit facility. These borrowings were used to partially finance the CCA, KASW, Yashi and KLAS acquisitions and to pay for related fees and expenses. We also received $1.5 million proceeds from stock option exercises and recognized a $1.7 million excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation arrangements. These cash flow increases were partially offset by $3.7 million scheduled repayments of outstanding principal balance under our, Mission’s and Marshall’s term loans, payments of dividends to our common stockholders of $5.9 million ($0.19 per share each quarter) and payments for capital lease obligations of $0.4 million.
In 2014, we and Mission repaid a total of $3.6 million outstanding principal under our and Mission’s term loans and we paid quarterly dividends to our common stockholders of $4.6 million ($0.15 per share).
Our senior secured credit facility may limit the amount of dividends we may pay to stockholders over the term of the agreement.
Future Sources of Financing and Debt Service Requirements
As of March 31, 2015, we, Mission and Marshall had total combined debt of $1.5 billion, which represented 96.0% of the Company’s combined capitalization. The Company’s high level of debt requires that a substantial portion of cash flow be dedicated to pay principal and interest on debt, which reduces the funds available for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes.
The Company had $63.0 million of total unused revolving loan commitments under its senior secured credit facilities, all of which were available for borrowing, based on the covenant calculations as of March 31, 2015. The Company’s ability to access funds under its senior secured credit facilities depends, in part, on its compliance with certain financial covenants. Any additional drawings under the senior secured credit facilities will reduce the Company’s future borrowing capacity and the amount of total unused revolving loan commitments.
On April 13, 2015, we repaid the outstanding principal balance under our revolving credit facility of $30.0 million funded by cash on hand.
On April 24, 2015, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share of our Class A common stock. The dividend is payable on May 29, 2015 to stockholders of record on May 15, 2015.
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We have also signed an agreement to acquire KCWI from Pappas. We will fund the $3.3 million remaining purchase price, subject to working capital adjustments, to Pappas through cash on hand upon closing which we expect to occur in the second quarter of 2015.
The following table summarizes the principal indebtedness scheduled to mature for the periods referenced as of March 31, 2015 (in thousands):
Remainder
of 2015
2016-2017
2018-2019
Nexstar senior secured credit facility
454,985
8,223
74,913
123,627
248,222
Mission senior secured credit facility
229,604
1,377
4,670
218,887
Marshall senior secured credit facility
60,500
2,550
12,650
45,300
6.875% senior unsecured notes due 2020
525,000
6.125% senior unsecured notes due 2022
1,545,089
12,150
92,233
173,597
1,267,109
We make semiannual interest payments on our $525.0 million 6.875% Notes on May 15 and November 15 of each year. We will make semiannual interest payments on our $275.0 million 6.125% Notes on February 15 and August 15 of each year beginning on August 15, 2015. Interest payments on our, Mission’s and Marshall’s senior secured credit facilities are generally paid every one to three months and are payable based on the type of interest rate selected.
The terms of our, Mission’s and Marshall’s senior secured credit facilities, as well as the indentures governing our 6.875% Notes and 6.125% Notes, limit, but do not prohibit us, Mission or Marshall from incurring substantial amounts of additional debt in the future.
The Company did not have any rating downgrade triggers that would accelerate the maturity dates of its debt. However, a downgrade in the Company’s credit rating could adversely affect its ability to renew the existing credit facilities, obtain access to new credit facilities or otherwise issue debt in the future and could increase the cost of such debt.
Debt Covenants
The Company’s senior secured credit facility contains covenants that require us to comply with certain financial ratios, including: (a) a maximum consolidated total net leverage ratio, (b) a maximum consolidated first lien net leverage ratio, and (c) a minimum consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio. The covenants, which are calculated on a quarterly basis, include the combined results of the Company. Mission’s and Marshall’s senior secured credit facilities do not contain financial covenant ratio requirements; however, they do include events of default if Nexstar does not comply with all covenants contained in its credit agreement. The 6.875% Notes and the 6.125% Notes contain restrictive covenants customary for borrowing arrangements of these types. The Company believes it will be able to maintain compliance with all covenants contained in the credit agreements governing its senior secured facilities and the indentures governing our respective notes for a period of at least the next twelve months from March 31, 2015.
No Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of March 31, 2015, we did not have any relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes. All of our arrangements with Mission, Marshall and other VIEs in which we are the primary beneficiary are on-balance sheet arrangements. Our variable interests in other entities are obtained through local service agreements, which have valid business purposes and transfer certain station activities from the station owners to us. We are, therefore, not materially exposed to any financing, liquidity, market or credit risk that could arise if we had engaged in such relationships.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the period. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to goodwill and intangible assets, bad debts, broadcast rights, trade and barter and income taxes. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from those estimates. Results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year.
Information with respect to the Company’s critical accounting policies which it believes could have the most significant effect on the Company’s reported results and require subjective or complex judgments by management is contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. Management believes that as of March 31, 2015, there has been no material change to this information.
Refer to Note 2 of our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for a discussion of recently issued accounting pronouncements, including our expected date of adoption and effects on results of operations and financial position.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact are “forward-looking statements” for purposes of federal and state securities laws, including: any projections or expectations of earnings, revenue, financial performance, liquidity and capital resources or other financial items; any assumptions or projections about the television broadcasting industry; any statements of our plans, strategies and objectives for our future operations, performance, liquidity and capital resources or other financial items; any statements concerning proposed new products, services or developments; any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; any statements of belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements may include the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and other similar words.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in any of our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ from a projection or assumption in any of our forward-looking statements. Our future financial position and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to change and inherent risks and uncertainties, including those described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements made in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are made only as of the date hereof, and we do not have or undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances unless otherwise required by law.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Interest Rate Risk
The Company’s exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to its long-term debt obligations.
The term loan borrowings at March 31, 2015 under the Company’s senior secured credit facilities bear interest rates ranging from 2.2% to 3.8%, which represented the base rate, or LIBOR, plus the applicable margin, as defined. The revolving loans bear interest at LIBOR plus the applicable margin, which totaled 2.2% at March 31, 2015. Interest is payable in accordance with the credit agreements.
If LIBOR were to increase by 100 basis points, or one percentage point, from its March 31, 2015 level, the Company’s annual interest expense would increase and cash flow from operations would decrease by approximately $3.4 million, based on the outstanding balances of the Company’s senior secured credit facilities as of March 31, 2015. Due to the LIBOR floor on certain of our term loans, an increase of 50 basis points in LIBOR would result in a $1.3 million increase in annual interest expense and decrease in cash flow from operations. If LIBOR were to decrease either by 100 basis points or 50 basis points, the Company’s annual interest would decrease and cash flow from operations would decrease by $0.4 million. Our 6.875% Notes and 6.125% Notes are fixed rate debt obligations and therefore are not exposed to market interest rate changes. As of March 31, 2015, the Company has no financial instruments in place to hedge against changes in the benchmark interest rates on its senior secured credit facilities.
Impact of Inflation
We believe that the Company’s results of operations are not affected by moderate changes in the inflation rate.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Nexstar’s management, with the participation of its President and Chief Executive Officer along with its Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation as of the end of the period covered by this report of the effectiveness of the design and operation of Nexstar’s disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Based upon that evaluation, Nexstar’s President and Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer concluded that as of the end of the period covered by this report, Nexstar’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective, at a reasonable assurance level, to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (i) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (ii) is accumulated and communicated to Nexstar’s management, including its President and Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
As of the quarter ended March 31, 2015, there have been no changes in Nexstar’s internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, its internal control over financial reporting.
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
From time to time, the Company is involved in litigation that arises from the ordinary operations of business, such as contractual or employment disputes or other general actions. In the event of an adverse outcome of these proceedings, the Company believes the resulting liabilities would not have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations.
There are no material changes from the risk factors previously disclosed in Part I, Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.
None.
The unaudited financial statements of Mission Broadcasting, Inc. as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 and for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, as filed in Mission Broadcasting, Inc.’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, are incorporated herein by reference.
Exhibit No.
Description
4.1
Indenture, dated as of January 29, 2015, among Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc., Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., as a guarantor, Mission Broadcasting, Inc., as a guarantor, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 000-50478) filed by Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. on January 30, 2015).
4.2
Form of Senior Note (included in Exhibit 4.1).
10.1
Amendment to Executive Employment Agreement, dated as of January 29, 2015 between Perry A. Sook and Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 000-50478) filed by Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. on February 5, 2015).
31.1
Certification of Perry A. Sook pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
31.2
Certification of Thomas E. Carter pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
Certification of Perry A. Sook pursuant to 18 U.S.C. ss. 1350.*
32.2
Certification of Thomas E. Carter pursuant to 18 U.S.C. ss. 1350.*
101
The Company’s unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 from this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, formatted in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language).*
*
Filed herewith
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
/S/ PERRY A. SOOK
By:
Perry A. Sook
Its:
President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)
/S/ THOMAS E. CARTER
Thomas E. Carter
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Accounting and Financial Officer)
Dated: May 8, 2015