Lamar Advertising 3rd-quarter profit shrinks

BATON ROUGE, La. - Lamar Advertising Co. on Thursday said its third-quarter profit shrank about 74 percent as advertisers cut spending in the face of the economic slump.

Lamar, which recently began a cost-cutting initiative, on Thursday also issued a fourth-quarter revenue forecast that falls below Wall Street expectations.

Baton Rouge-based Lamar — which owns and operates outdoor advertising such as billboard and logo sign displays — reported net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 of nearly $3.8 million, or 4 cents per share, down from a profit of $14.5 million, or 15 cents per share, in last year's third quarter.

The latest quarter's profit fell just shy of the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who had forecast 5 cents per share.

Lamar's third-quarter revenue dipped to $312.5 million from $314.3 million but topped analysts' expectation of $305.7 million.

Companies like Lamar have recently been squeezed as advertisers curb spending.

Lamar said that about a month ago it started cutting operating expenses, capital expenditures and acquisition costs. The moves are expected to free up cash to reduce debt.

Shares of Lamar closed Wednesday at $15.32, down from $54.84 a year ago. The stock traded around $35 about six weeks ago.

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