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LBI Media, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2008 Results


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- Second Quarter Net Revenues Increased 4.6% to $34.0 million

- Adjusted EBITDA(1), excluding deferred compensation benefit(2), increases 2.0% to $16.1 million

- Company Announces Entry into Definitive Agreement to Purchase its First Station in the Phoenix, Arizona Market

BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 14, 2008 -- LBI Media, Inc. announced its financial results today for the three and six months ended June 30, 2008.

Results and Discussions

For the quarter ended June 30, 2008, net revenues increased 4.6% to $34.0 million, as compared to $32.5 million for the same period in 2007. This growth was primarily attributable to double-digit growth in the company's radio segment, partially offset by a decline in revenues in the company's television segment.

The company's radio segment increased by $2.7 million, or 15.8%, to $19.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2008, as compared to $17.1 million for the same period in 2007. Radio advertising revenues benefited from strong growth across all of the company's radio markets - Los Angeles, Houston and Dallas. In Los Angeles, KRQB-FM continued to benefit from its strong ratings performance, and the station's ability to leverage the company's position in the Southern California Hispanic market. Growth in the company's Los Angeles radio market was also attributable to improved advertising revenues from its existing stations, as the increases in national sales more than offset the softness in the local market. In Houston, increased ratings and a strong local economy contributed to the growth in that market. The overall net revenue growth in the segment was also attributable to revenue growth in Dallas, which benefited from increased acceptance by advertisers of the company's newly reformatted stations.

The company's television segment decreased by $1.2 million, or $7.8%, to $14.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2008, from $15.4 million for the same period in 2007. In Los Angeles, Houston and Dallas, the decline was primarily the result of lower infomercial sales. However, improvement in national sales, especially in Dallas, and the addition of cable carriage for the company's San Diego station partially offset the softness in infomercial advertising revenues.

Lenard Liberman, the company's Executive Vice President and Secretary commented, "I am pleased with our first half performance, even as the general advertising environment remains soft due to macroeconomic conditions. Our radio cluster continues to deliver solid organic growth, even while facing difficult comparisons to the first half of 2007 when the segment grew by 22%. Our top-rated, internally produced television programming has allowed us to achieve significant increases in our national and agency driven advertising business, which has helped offset softness in infomercial advertising revenues.

One of our key business strategies is to leverage the success of our internally-produced programming and tap into new revenue streams such as network advertising. We believe the ratings success we have achieved in television validates our leading position amongst the nation's most prominent Hispanic broadcasters in several of the nation's largest and most competitive markets. To that end, we are proud to announce the launch of EstrellaTV, a new Spanish language television network featuring our successful programming, which will debut in early 2009.

Consistent with this strategy, we have entered into an agreement to purchase selected assets of television station KVPA in Phoenix, Arizona, which we are very excited about. Our entry into the 8th largest Hispanic market in the U.S. with proven operating, management and programming expertise should establish a positive platform for future growth."

Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2008

Second quarter net revenues increased 4.6% to $34.0 million, as compared to $32.5 million for the same period last year. As noted above, the increase was primarily the result of increased advertising revenue in the company's radio segment, partially offset by a decline in television net revenues.

Total operating expenses increased by $4.1 million, or 25.6%, to $20.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2008 as compared to $16.2 million for the same period in 2007. The increase was primarily attributable to a $2.8 million deferred compensation benefit that the company recorded in the second quarter of 2007, which did not recur in the second quarter of 2008. The overall change was also attributable to (a) a $0.6 million, or 10.1%, increase in programming and technical expenses primarily related to the company's radio station, KRQB-FM, in the Riverside and San Bernardino region of the company's Los Angeles market, and the company's Salt Lake City, Utah, television station, KPNZ-TV, and higher music license fees, (b) a $0.4 million, or 4.2%, increase in selling, general and administrative expenses primarily related to incremental expenses for KRQB-FM and KPNZ-TV, each acquired in the second half of 2007, partially offset by a decline in professional fees, (c) a $0.2 million, or 6.9%, increase in depreciation and amortization, primarily due to the acquisitions of KRQB-FM and KPNZ-TV in 2007, and the completion of construction on two radio tower sites in Texas in the fourth quarter of 2007, and (d) a $0.1, or 21.1%, increase in promotional expenses.

The company reported net income of $6.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2008, as compared to $8.6 million for the same period of 2007, a decrease of $2.2 million. The decline was primarily attributable to the absence of the $2.8 million deferred compensation benefit for the three months ended June 30, 2008, as compared to the second quarter of 2007, and higher interest expense, partially offset by higher interest rate swap income.

Results for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2008

Net revenues increased by $2.7 million, or 4.8% to $60.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2008, as compared to $57.7 million for the same period in 2007. The increase was primarily the result of increased advertising revenue in the company's radio segment, partially offset by a decline in revenues in the company's television segment.

Total operating expenses increased by $7.1 million, or 21.3%, to $40.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2008 as compared to $33.0 million for the same period in 2007. This increase was primarily attributable to a $4.0 million deferred compensation benefit that the company recorded during the six months ended June 30, 2007, which did not recur in the first half of 2008. The overall change was also attributable to (a) a $1.5 million, or 7.5%, increase in selling, general and administrative expenses primarily due to start-up costs and additional expenses for the stations the company acquired in the second half of 2007, KRQB-FM and KPNZ-TV, and higher expenses for the company's Dallas radio stations, reflecting their overall growth in net revenue, (b) a $1.1 million, or 9.2%, increase in programming and technical expenses primarily related to additional expenses for KRQB-FM and KPNZ-TV, and higher music license fees, (c) a $0.3 million, or 7.4%, increase in depreciation and amortization, primarily due to the acquisitions of KRQB-FM and KPNZ-TV, and the completion of construction on two radio tower sites in Texas in the fourth quarter of 2007, and (d) a $0.2 million, or 18.5%, increase in promotional expenses.

The company reported net income of $0.5 million for the six months of 2008, as compared to a net loss of $37.9 million for the same period in 2007, an increase of $38.4 million. This change was largely attributable to the $44.4 million decrease in the company's income tax provision, primarily related to the company's conversion from an S Corp to a C Corp in March 2007, partially offset by the $4.0 million decrease in deferred compensation benefit, higher interest expense and lower interest rate swap income.

Recent Developments

On August 8, 2008, two of the company's wholly owned subsidiaries, KRCA Television LLC and KRCA License LLC, entered into an asset purchase agreement with Latin America Broadcasting of Arizona, Inc. (the "Seller") pursuant to which the company agreed to acquire selected assets of television station KVPA-LP, Channel 42, licensed to Phoenix, Arizona. The selected assets include, among other things, (i) licenses and permits authorized by the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, for or in connection with the operation of the station and (ii) transmission and other broadcast equipment used to operate the station.

The total purchase price will be approximately $1.3 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments, of which $0.1 million has been deposited into escrow. Consummation of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval from the FCC.

Second Quarter 2008 Conference Call

The company will host a conference call to discuss its financial results for the second quarter of 2008 on Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 4:00 PM Eastern Time. Interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing (877) 718-5104 five minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the call and asking for the "LBI Media, Inc. Second Quarter 2008 Results Conference Call." The conference call will be recorded and made available for replay through Sunday, August 17, 2008. Investors may listen to the replay of the call by dialing (888) 203-1112 then entering the passcode 1265474.

Information for Holders of LBI Media's 81/2% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017

Results for LBI Media, Inc.'s three and six months ended June 30, 2008 will be posted on its website at http://www.lbimedia.com/investors. Holders and beneficial owners of LBI Media, Inc.'s 81/2% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017 may access this information by contacting Wisdom Lu at (818) 729-5316 to receive a temporary username and password.