Lamar Advertising Company Announces Earnings for the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 1997 and Announces Intent to Purchase Certain Markets of National Advertising Company from Outdoor Systems, Inc

Business Wire, August 4, 1997

BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 4, 1997--Lamar Advertising Company (Nasdaq: LAMR), a leading owner and operator of outdoor advertising and logo sign displays, today announced record revenues and operating cash flow for the second quarter ended June 30, 1997.

Lamar reported record net revenues of $50.1M for the second quarter of 1997 versus $30.9M for the second quarter of 1996 and operating cash flow (EBITDA) of $23.8M for the second quarter of 1997 versus $13.2M for the second quarter of 1996.

Net earnings were $1.6M for the second quarter of 1997 compared to $3.2M for the second quarter 1996. As a result of increased acquisition activity, the company experienced additional depreciation and amortization expense along with increased interest expense related to the company's bank facility.

For the six months ended June 30, 1997, net revenue was $87.9M, operating cash flow (EBITDA) was $38.9M and net earnings were $2.9M compared to net revenue of $58.8M, operating cash flow (EBITDA) of $22.8M and net earnings of $4.2M, for the six months ended June 30, 1996.

In addition, Lamar has signed a letter of intent to acquire from Outdoor Systems, Inc. (OSI), for a cash purchase price of approximately $115 million, outdoor advertising assets located in certain markets that OSI has agreed to acquire from National Advertising Company (3M). The acquisition is contingent on completion of OSI's acquisition of 3M and other customary closing conditions, including execution of a definitive agreement and expiration or early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

The OSI acquisition provides entry for Lamar into the markets of:

- Atlanta, Georgia

- Denver, Colorado

- Detroit, Michigan

- Grand Rapids, Michigan

- Houston, Texas

- New Orleans, Louisiana

- Kansas City, Missouri

- Louisville, Kentucky

- Phoenix, Arizona

- Sacramento, California

The acquisition is expected to add approximately 1,800 displays to Lamar's current display count of approximately 40,000. Both the number of displays and purchase price are subject to change before finalization of the transaction.

Lamar Advertising Company is a leading outdoor advertising company currently operating 54 outdoor advertising companies in 20 states, logo franchises in 18 states, a Tourist Oriented Directional Sign (TODS) program in the province of Ontario, Canada and 12 transit advertising franchises in 5 states. -0-

                   LAMAR ADVERTISING COMPANY
                    STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS

                            Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
                            June 30,  June 30, June 30,  June 30,
                              1996     1997      1996      1997

Outdoor advertising net   $  30,834 $ 49,962  $ 58,497  $ 87,644
Other income                    113      146       295       311
                             30,947   50,108    58,792    87,955

Direct advertising expenses  10,329   15,483    21,108    28,950
General and administrative
expenses                      7,429   10,828    14,863    20,081
Depreciation and
amortization                  3,533   10,977     7,035    17,727
                             21,291   37,288    43,006    66,758

Operating income              9,656   12,820    15,786    21,197

Non-operating (income)\expense

Interest income             (    39) (   300)  (    91)  ( 1,421)
Interest expense              3,957    8,460     7,983    15,404
Other expenses                  339      459       820       919
                              4,257    8,619     8,712    14,902
Earnings before income
  taxes                       5,399    4,201     7,074     6,295

Income tax expense            2,177    2,616     2,829     3,414

Net earnings                  3,222    1,585     4,245     2,881

Preferred stock dividends       183      183       274       274

Net earnings applicable to
 common stock                 3,039    1,402     3,971     2,607

Net Income per share            .12      .04       .16       .08