Lamar Advertising, which has been hard hit by the national recession, says it lost $21.3 million in the first quarter. That compares with a $3.2 million loss the Baton Rouge-based billboard company had in the first three months of 2008 but was smaller than what analysts expected. Lamar has been hard hit as customers, such as car dealers and real estate companies, cut back on advertising due to the economic downturn. Revenues were down 12.6%, to $247.2 million, in the first quarter. Lamar expects those numbers to fall further in the second quarter; the company is forecasting $275 million in revenues, down 16% from the same period in 2008. In the face of declining revenues, Lamar has pulled back on putting up new digital and traditional billboards; first quarter capital expenditures dropped from $50.2 million in the first quarter of 2008, to $10 million.
Lamar posts quarterly loss
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