Earnings: Meredith Revs And Income Flat; Interactive Up 25 percent; Broadcast Video Streams Doubled

Publisher and marketer Meredith (NYSE: MDP) reported revenue of $396.2 million for its quarter ending December 31, down .8 percent from last year’s $399.3 million. Income from continuing operations came to 35.2 million, down 1.8 percent from last year’s. The company said that gains in its publishing business were offset by broadcast weakness, which it attributed to weak political spending. Some highlights:

Meredith Interactive Media revenue, which falls under the company’s publishing category grew 25 percent, which the company attributed to growth redesigns at BHG.com, Parents.com and growth at the company’s niche enthusiast sites.

— Overall revenue grew 5 percent to $309 million, helped by an 8 percent rise in advertising revenue. All of the company’s magazine saw gains in the quarter.

— Broadcasting profit declined by 30 percent to $28 million, but online revenue at the unit grew 50 percent. The company says the number of videos streamed at these sites has doubled to 1.5 million per month.

— For the third quarter, the company is warning that ad revenues are looking slightly down compared to the prior year.

Release | Webcast

Conference call: As suggested in the release, the coming quarter is looking weaker. Advertisers are growing more cautious and waiting longer to make ad buys, which is likely to make the company’s financials lumpier. An analyst asked how the economy looks compared to the last recession, from an advertising standpoint. CEO Stephen Lacy pointed out that during the internet boom, the company resisted calls to aggressively ramp up or spin off its online business, so it wasn’t as exposed as other companies. So it’s hard to tell how a downturn would differ. Publishing group President Jack Griffin also addressed a recent NYP report that the company would be hard hit by a Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) plan to purge certain magazine titles from its racks. Griffin said the report was inaccurate, saying Better Homes & Gardens, Ladies Home Journal and Fitness are all expected to remain on the shelves.

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