Meredith Station Quarterly Revenue Up 17%
Meredith Corp. this morning reported that its Local Media Group (station group) fiscal first quarter 2021 (ended Sept. 30, 2020) revenue of $226 million, up 17% from $192.8 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Of that, advertising revenue totaled $131 million, up 20%; “consumer related” revenue was $91.6 million (+15%); and “other” revenue totaled $3.3 million (-19.6%).
Local Media Group political spot was $51.7, up from $2.6 million; non-political spot was $56.8 million, down from $76.8 million; digital was $4.3 million, up from $4.2 million; and third-party sales came in at $18.3 million, down from $25.5 million.
Retransmission consent revenue was $91.4 million, a 14.8% increase from $109.1 in the year-ago quarter.
The station group saw operating profit of $63.8 million, up 66% from the same quarter last year.
The company as a whole reported quarterly total revenue of $693.5 million, down 4.4%. It said: “Declines due to COVID-19 and previously announced magazine portfolio adjustments were partially offset by record first quarter revenue performance for National Media Group digital advertising and Local Media Group political revenues.
“Fiscal 2021 first quarter earnings from continuing operations more than tripled to $42 million from $12 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA grew 17 percent to $143 million due primarily to digital advertising and political revenue growth.
“Fiscal 2021 first quarter cash flow from operations was $79 million, compared to a use of $14 million in the prior-year period, and free cash flow was $70 million, compared to a use of $29 million in the prior-year period, as Meredith benefited from political revenues, effective working capital improvements, lower compensation-related items, and lower restructuring payments.
Meredith recorded a loss from continuing operations of $289 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. The loss was due primarily to non-cash impairments of goodwill and intangible assets of $296 million as well as lease-related assets exited as part of ongoing synergy activities of $88 million.
Fiscal 2020 third quarter adjusted EBITDA was $152 million, compared to $161 million in the prior year, driven primarily by COVID-19-related declines in advertising, partially offset by increased political advertising.
Meredith Corp. President-CEO Tom Harty said: “We are off to an encouraging start to fiscal 2021, with 15 percent growth in national digital advertising to a record high, and a 43 percent increase in local political spot advertising from the prior cycle two years ago.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact total company revenues, sequentially our year-over-year performance has continued to recover. Our efforts to enhance financial flexibility and control costs have produced tangible results as demonstrated by our growth in operating profit and free cash flow. We anticipate these improvements will continue benefiting shareholders as macroeconomic conditions continue to improve and enable us to more meaningfully shift our focus to deleveraging and other long-term initiatives.”
Read the company’s report here.
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