Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Scott Wells: So, thanks, Jason. We absolutely saw a strong rate environment, and frankly continue to see a good rate environment. Again, where there’s softness, it’s a little bit idiosyncratic right now. It’s not widespread. And you think about one of the drivers of the really strong upfront that we’ve talked about is that we have been seeing good rate increases. It’s not as simple as just inflation, but that certainly makes it a little bit easier of a conversation. Obviously, the transition from COVID environment to the environment we were in in kind of second half 2021, first half 2022, to what I’d characterized as us approaching a more €œregular,€ regular is a dangerous word, but we’re getting into more of a regular trading environment.

And so, rate increases will probably be more challenging over time as we see that, because it’s not as straightforward as just inflation is X, so therefore rates going up Y. There’s a lot of segmentation of our assets in terms of location, and it has been a very premium market in terms of advertisers looking for the very, very best locations, and that creates a rate. So, I guess what I’d tell you is that we are very focused on rate. We look to – we’re very focused on yield, rate being an important part of generating yield. And we expect that we will continue to be able to drive yield in 2023. Hopefully that gives you something. I’m not sure if that was the exact spirit of your question.

Jason Bazinet: Yes, it seemed like you guys had – I mean, the industry, I felt like had pretty good pricing power, but it sounds like that’s going to moderate a bit, but you’re still going to be able to generate organic growth, I guess, is the takeaway for €˜23.

Scott Wells: Yes. And I mean, I at least think of our digital conversions as organic growth too, because it’s not acquisitions and the paybacks are very attractive. So, it’s not – the growth doesn’t just come from rate, I guess, is the point I’d make to you.

Jason Bazinet: Understood. Okay. Thank you.

Operator: This concludes our Q&A. I’ll now hand back to Scott Wells, CEO, for any closing remarks.

Scott Wells: Great. Thank you very much. We appreciate you all joining our call today. We do feel good about the year that lies ahead and are optimistic and look forward to updating you as the year develops on the various strategic initiatives and operating initiatives that we touched on. Have a great day.

Operator: Today’s call has now concluded. Participants, you may now disconnect your lines.