• by Ray Schultz , February 13, 2023

Publisher Dotdash Meredith saw an 89% increase in revenue in Q4 to $477.6 million, parent IAC reported on Monday. 

Digital revenue accounted for $260 million, and print revenue $224 million.  

Dotdash Meredith, which was acquired by IAC for a reported $2.7 billion in 2021, experienced an $8.8 million operating loss in Q4, compared to a $37.2 million loss in Q4 2021. 

Digital generated $28.6 million in operating income, a 3% decline from the same quarter in the prior year. Print showed an operating loss of $23.3 million, a 258% decline. 

Advertising EBITDA increased to $73.3 million due to the Meredith acquisition.

However, the ad market “softened appreciably in November and December, as many brands froze their marketing spending in a season when budgets normally peak,” according to a shareholder letter sent Monday.  

The letter continues: “We saw this trend in both premium direct and programmatic demand, with large holiday campaigns significantly cut back and programmatic CPMs down 10%-15%. Consumer internet traffic also trailed the prior year’s exceptional numbers, and overall traffic underperformed our expectations, particularly at the historical Dotdash sites."

But the company is seeing “the benefits of our investments in faster site speed, reduced ad load and improved content quality at the former Meredith sites,” it states. 

For 2023, the goal is to “build off the completion of the integration,” the letter states. 

But it adds, “We do not expect the advertising market to substantially improve in the near term and anticipate a challenging first quarter but believe we can stabilize the financial picture on the digital business at some point in the second quarter and begin to grow digital revenue again in the second half of 2023.”

Looking forward, IAC expects $250 million to $300 million in Adjusted EBITDA.

The company has achieved faster site speed, reduced ad load and improved content quality at the former Meredith sites.

Overall, IAC revenue increased 8% to $1.25 billion in Q4. And for the full year, IAC grew Adjusted EBITDA 86% to nearly $200 million.