Meredith Corp. (MDP) Tops Q1 EPS by 12c, Revenues Beat; Affirms FY19 EPS/Revenue Outlook

Meredith Corp. (NYSE: MDP) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.08), $0.12 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.20). Revenue for the quarter came in at $757 million versus the consensus estimate of $751.54 million.

• Total Company revenues from continuing operations grew more than 90 percent to $757 million, and total advertising related revenues more than doubled to $423 million.
• Earnings from continuing operations, including special items in both periods, were $16 million, compared to $33 million. Meredith recorded $14 million of net special items in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, primarily related to restructuring and integration costs.
• Excluding special items, earnings from continuing operations were $30 million, compared to $31 million. (See Tables 1-4 for supplemental disclosures regarding non-GAAP financial measures.)
• Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $143 million.

"We are off to a strong start in fiscal 2019, delivering results that exceeded expectations," said Meredith Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Harty. "Performance was driven by record demand for political advertising in our Local Media Group, and improved sequential comparable print advertising performance along with strong expense discipline in our National Media Group. As a result, we delivered significantly improved year-over-year adjusted EBITDA and margins, which we expect will continue through fiscal 2019.

"Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter, we see continued record political advertising in our Local Media Group and continued improving advertising performance in our National Media Group," Harty added. "We continue to expect to achieve our goals of reducing debt by $1 billion by the end of fiscal 2019 and generating $1 billion of adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2020, meaningfully contributing to total shareholder return."

GUIDANCE:

Meredith Corp. sees FY2019 EPS of $2.78-$3.20, versus the consensus of $3.16. Meredith Corp. sees FY2019 revenue of $3-3.2 billion, versus the consensus of $3.11 billion.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Meredith Corp. (MDP) click here.

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