Meredith Corp. (MDP), a media and marketing company, reported a swing to loss in the fourth quarter from last year, mainly from hefty impairment charges as well as decline in revenues reflecting the challenging advertising climate. Earnings for the quarter, however, came in ahead of analysts' estimate by a penny. The company also provided its earnings guidance for full year 2010 and first quarter.
Net loss of Meredith for the fourth quarter was $163.69 million or $3.64 per share, compared to an income of $19.16 million or $0.41 per share in the previous year.
Net loss from continuing operations for the quarter was $163.85 million or $3.64 per share, compared to an income from continuing operations of $18.56 million or $0.40 per share a year ago.
Results for the quarter include impairment charges related to Broadcasting's FCC licenses and goodwill of $295 million, or $185 million after-tax, and employee severance charges of $5.5 million, or $3.4 million after-tax.
On an adjusted basis, the company reported an income from continuing operations of $24.65 million or $0.55 per share, compared to income from continuing operations of $34.66 million or $0.76 per share last year.
On average, five analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.54 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Total revenues for the quarter declined to $345.85 million from $376.27 million last year. Analysts expected the company to report revenues of $339.60 million for the quarter.
By segment, Publishing revenue was $283.37 million, down 17%, compared to $297.40 million a year ago. Broadcasting revenue declined to $62.48 million from $78.87 million in the previous year.
For the full year, net loss from continuing operations was $102.51 million or $2.28 per share, compared to an income of $132.97 million or $2.79 per share last year.
Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $91.50 million or $2.03 per share, compared earnings from continuing operations or $149.07 million or $3.13 per share last year.
Analysts expected the company to report earnings of $2.01 per share for the fiscal 2009.
Total revenues for the fiscal 2009, which were in line with analysts' estimates, were $1.41 billion, compared to $1.55 billion in 2008.
For the full fiscal year, Meredith's share of magazine advertising increased to 10.5% from 9.5%, according to the most recent data available from Publishers Information Bureau.
Meredith made a $100 million debt payment on June 30 2009, reducing its total debt balance to $380 million, a 22% reduction from the prior year end.
Looking at fiscal 2010, Meredith expects advertising to continue to be impacted by the recession. First quarter advertising revenues are expected to be down in the mid single-digit range.
Meredith currently expects first quarter earnings to range from $0.30 to $0.35 per share, while analysts anticipate earnings of $0.35 per share.
For the fiscal year 2010, the company anticipate earnings to range from $1.60 to $2.00 per share, while the Street expects earnings of $1.93 per share.
MDP is currently trading at $26.79, down 3.34 or 11.09%, on a volume of 387K shares on the NYSE.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.