OTTAWA – Operating revenues at Canada’s private radio broadcasters are down by over $52 million, dropping 3.3% from 2015 to $1.6 billion in 2016, according to data released Tuesday by Statistics Canada.
The profit margin before interest and taxes fell from 18.9% in 2015 to 18.6% in 2016, and profits before interest and taxes totalled $289.0 million, leading to the decline in operating revenues.
Quebec was the only province to post higher operating revenues and profit margin before interest and taxes, up 1.3% to $311.3 million, making private radio broadcasters in that province the most profitable in the country in 2016. The biggest drop in operating revenues was in the West, where they fell 8.2% from 2015 to $589.4 million in 2016.
The operating revenues for French-language radio stations rose 1.2% to $265.9 million in 2016. The profit margin before interest and taxes for these stations also increased, from 16.5% in 2015 to 20.1% in 2016, on account of a 3.2% decrease in operating expenses.
English-language radio stations saw their operating revenues fall 4.3% to $1.2 billion, and their profit margin before interest and taxes drop from 19.6% in 2015 to 18.4% in 2016.
The profit margin before interest and taxes for ethnic radio stations inched up 0.4 percentage points to 14.9% in 2016, with a 1.5% decline in operating expenses offsetting a 1.0% decrease in operating revenues.
Overall operating expenses in the sector fell 2.9% to $1.3 billion in 2016, with sales and promotion posting the biggest decline, down 5.4% from 2015 to $355.9 million in 2016.
Operating expenses in the private FM radio sector fell 3.9% to $1.3 billion in 2016. The profit margin before interest and taxes edged down from 21.7% to 21.6% year-over-year, which translated into a profit before interest and taxes of $274.1 million.
The profit margin before interest and taxes for the private AM radio sector was down from 6.0% in 2015 to 5.3% in 2016. This decrease was attributable to a 0.2% increase in operating expenses to $269.3 million, while operating revenues fell 0.5% to $284.3 million.
