MEREDITH CORPORATION
FISCAL 2010 SECOND QUARTER
INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL
Our National Media Group delivered sequential quarterly improvement in advertising revenues - by far the best performance in our peer group and much better than the industry taken as a whole. |
Five Meredith titles - Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, More, Fitness and Ladies' Home Journal - increased ad revenues, as measured by Publishers Information Bureau. That's a remarkable achievement when you consider just 14 titles among the more than 200 measured magazines across the industry had growth in Calendar 2009. Additionally, Family Circle and Better Homes and Gardens finished #1 and #2 in advertising pages in the highly competitive women's lifestyle category. Both titles were named to Advertising Age's A List of the nation's top magazines, while Fitness was named the most improved publication by Media Industry Newsletter. |
Our Local Media Group also delivered sequential quarterly improvement in non-political advertising revenues, gaining market share in the process. We finished the calendar year particularly strong, delivering a 4 percent gain in non-political advertising revenues in the fourth calendar quarter. |
Gaining market share in our national magazine and local television operations; | ||
Increasing our already strong connection to American consumers; | ||
Growing new streams of revenues, particularly those not dependent on traditional advertising; and | ||
Exercising disciplined expense control and aggressive cash management. |
Better Homes and Gardens grew advertising revenues by 7 percent. More and Fitness magazines also grew advertising revenues in the quarter.
First, our branded editorial content focuses on the subjects that matter most to women. That emphasis is more important than ever as consumers look for sound, practical advice. |
Second, our advertisers are seeking the most value for their advertising dollars. The reach and efficiency of our magazine portfolio, particularly among our largest brands, continues to work in our favor. |
Third, we have a sales organization that can create and deliver multi-platform marketing campaigns that help our customers sell more products at retail. These programs now represent approximately 20 percent of our advertising revenues. During the second quarter: |
* | Family Circle partnered with IKEA to launch an experiential cooking program featuring seminars taught by celebrity chefs. | |
* | Better Homes and Gardens' 2010 Best New Products Awards attracted more than 50 brands to participate. | |
* | More magazine signed Wells Fargo as the presenting sponsor for its three Re-Invention Conventions scheduled in 2010, and also won new advertising business from Cadillac, Lincoln and Ford. |
Finally, during the quarter we were ranked No. 1 among all media companies by Advertiser Intelligence Reports in terms of advertiser perceptions. We were ahead of both our publishing peers as well as other media companies such as Google, ESPN and Disney.
In addition, Wells Fargo commissioned Meredith Integrated Marketing to complete an analysis of its digital space and help develop a customer relationship management program for the company.
Our CBS affiliate in Atlanta made significant ratings gains in all key newscasts. We more than doubled our ratings in morning news, and late news grew nearly 30 percent. | ||
Our stations in Hartford, Nashville and Las Vegas captured a larger share of morning news viewers, with Hartford and Portland maintained their #1 positions. | ||
In the evening and late news periods, where advertising rates are the highest, we grew viewership and ratings in Kansas City, Las Vegas and Phoenix. | ||
Hartford maintained its No. 1 position across all its newscasts. |
FINANCIAL UPDATE (JOE CERYANEC)
A number of uncertainties remain that may affect our outlook for the third fiscal quarter and full year of 2010. These are referenced in our Safe Harbor statement in today's press release and in certain SEC filings.
Exceeding industry metrics in our core businesses; | ||
Repositioning those businesses to meet market demand; | ||
Strengthening our consumer connection across channels; | ||
Growing new sources of revenues; and | ||
Efficiently utilizing capital. |