Meredith’s Station Revenue Adds 8%

Meredith Corp. today reported that its station group’s fiscal fourth quarter revenue grew 8% to $152 million.

The station group, which operates 17 stations covering 11% of TV homes, saw operating profit grow 9% to $46 million and EBITDA grew 6% to $55 million, compared to the prior-year period. 

The group’s non-political advertising revenues grew 1% to $91 million, compared to $90 million in the year-ago quarter. And its “Other Revenue,” which includes retransmission consent money, grew 23% to $56.9 million.

Meredith’s stations produce 700 hours of what it calls “highly profitable” local news and entertainment content each week. Meredith said it expects to continue to grow its Local Media Group organically and through strategic acquisitions.

The company as a whole reported quarterly total revenue of $445 million, up 2.2% from the same period last year. earnings per share were $0.97, compared to a loss of $2.03 per share in the prior-year period.

“We expanded our audience across media platforms and launched new products to strengthen our competitive position with Millennial consumers and advertisers wanting to reach them,” said Meredith President and COO Tom Harty. “We continued to deliver double-digit gains in digital advertising revenue, which offset print declines on a comparable basis. Additionally, we generated a record $63 million of political advertising revenues and increased net retransmission contribution.”

Read the company’s report here.