Wednesday, media and marketing company Meredith Corp. (MDP) reported a decline in third-quarter net income, reflecting the impact of lower advertising revenues particularly in its broadcasting segment. In addition, the company provided an outlook for the fourth-quarter as well as the full year 2009.
The Des Moines, Iowa-based company's net income dropped to $25.43 million, or $0.56 per share, from $46.08 million, or $0.97 per share, last year.
On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.54 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Quarterly revenues decreased to $337.59 million from $392.28 million in the prior year. Analysts' expected revenues of $350.56 million for the quarter.
On a segmented basis, Publishing revenues for the quarter were $280 million, down from $315 million in the prior year. Broadcasting revenues decreased to $57 million from $78 million in the prior-year period.
Advertising revenues fell to $184.18 million from $225.37 million in the year-ago quarter. Publishing advertising revenues declined 12% to $132 million from $150 million in the comparable quarter a year ago. Broadcasting advertising revenues dropped 31%, attributed to lower automotive spending together with weakness in the Phoenix and Las Vegas markets.
Revenues for Circulation were $72.87 million, down from $83.24 million in the comparable quarter a year ago. All other categories' revenues for the quarter declined to $80.54 million from $83.68 million.
For the nine-month period, net income fell to $56.61 million, or $1.25 per share, from $115.51 million, or $2.40 per share, a year earlier. Total revenue was $1.06 billion, down from $1.18 billion in the year-ago period.
Looking forward, Meredith sees fourth-quarter earnings per share in the range of $0.52 to $0.57. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $0.55 per share for the fourth quarter. Meredith's average tax rate is expected to be about 40% in the fourth quarter.
For the full year 2009, the company expects earnings per share from continuing operations to be in the range of $2.00 to $2.05, excluding the special charge taken in the fiscal second quarter. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $1.97 per share for 2009. Meredith's expects 2009 average tax rate to be 40%.
MDP is currently trading at $24.49, up $3.30 or 16.07% on a volume of 867K shares.
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