Yesterday Meredith Corp. (NYSE: MDP) reported record earnings of $1.58 per share, the highest in company history, for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2017. This figure is more than double the $0.72 earnings per share declared for the same period in the previous year. Other second quarter highlights for fiscal year 2017 include:

• Total company revenue was $443 million, a 9 percent increase year-over-year, an all-time quarterly high.
• Total advertising revenue was $267 million, an 11 percent increase year-over-year, also an all-time quarterly high.
• Local Media Group revenue was $183 million, a 31 percent increase year-over-year. Operating profit was $77 million, a 90 percent increase year-over year. EBITDA grew 70 percent to $86 million. All were record quarterly highs. Meredith said growth was driven by a 27 percent increase in total advertising revenue, including $40 million in political advertising. Local Media Group includes 17 Meredith-owned and operated TV stations reaching 11 percent of U.S. households.
• Total Company digital advertising grew 16 percent to a quarterly record high. Traffic to Meredith’s digital and mobile sites grew to an average of 90 million unique visitors per month, while video views increased 13 percent.
• National Media Group had digital advertising revenue growth of 16 percent.
• Consumer engagement in key demographics expanded across the company’s media platforms, reaching more than 100 million unduplicated American women, including 75 percent of all U.S. millennial women.
• Meredith magazine readership is 125 million.
• Circulation revenue increased slightly to $67 million due, in part, to the launch of The Magnolia Journal, a quarterly lifestyle magazine based on Joanna and Chip Gaines’ Magnolia brand.
• Expenses decreased by 9 percent.

Company highlights for the first half of fiscal year 2017 include:

• Earnings per share were $2.33, a company record, compared to $0.96 per share in the prior-year period.
• Total company revenue grew 7 percent to $843 million, a Meredith record.
• Total advertising revenue grew 7 percent to $493 million, a Meredith record.
• Cash flow from operations grew to $117 million from $48 million year-over-year.

“We continued our record-setting performance in the second quarter and first half of fiscal 2017, driven by record political advertising revenues at our television stations and double-digit growth in digital ad revenues in both the national and local businesses,” said Meredith Chairman and CEO Stephen M. Lacy in the earnings announcement. “We continue to expect to deliver record full fiscal year 2017 revenue and earnings performance, driven by aggressive execution of our strategic growth initiatives.”

Meredith President and COO Tom Harty commented on the company’s strong financials:

“Our results in calendar 2016 reflect the strength of our diversified media business. In our Local Media Group, we generated a record $67 million of political ad revenues and increased net retransmission contribution.  In our National Media Group, we delivered growth in ad revenues as double-digit gains in digital advertising outpaced slight declines in magazine advertising.  Importantly, we renewed our industry leading Better Homes & Gardens licensing program at Walmart stores nationwide.”

Moving forward, Meredith estimates full-year earnings per share between $3.78 and $4.08. It estimates third quarter earnings for fiscal year 2017 to range from $0.75 to $0.80.

So far, investors are responding favorably. At 4 PM Eastern on January 24, 2017, Meredith stock was $55.23 per share. At 3:33 PM Eastern on January 25, Meredith stock had increased to $60.25. This is a strong improvement over its share price of $37.18 per share on January 25, 2016.

Insider Take:

This was a dramatic improvement for Meredith Corp. over this time last year, and its earnings and stock price reflect Meredith’s hard work. In addition to cashing in on a volatile presidential election, Meredith made some big strategic changes in fiscal year 2016, as we outlined in our “7 Lessons from Publishers Who’ve Diversified Their Revenue Streams” feature, earlier this year.

Key among Meredith’s winning strategies is diversifying beyond traditional publishing and advertising revenue, including capitalizing on top brands like Eating Well, Allrecipes and SHAPE. Though Meredith will not have the same election-driven ad revenue this year, it is still predicting a solid fiscal year 2017.