• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, Yesterday

IAC was off to a good start in Q1, largely driven by its Dotdash Meredith publishing arm, according to its financials released on Monday. 

Revenue totaled $570.5 million for the quarter at IAC, down 9% YoY. 

In contrast, Dotdash Meredith (DDM) saw its revenue increase by 1% to $393.1 million.  Ad revenue also went up by 1% at DDM to $134.6 million.

In addition, DDM’s digital revenue jumped by 7% to $224 million, but print revenue decreased 7% to $174 million.

The above totals reflect higher premium advertising revenue, mostly in the technology, retail and beauty & style categories. But they also show lower programmatic advertising revenue caused, in part, by the higher premium advertising penetration.

Moreover, DDM recorded a $36 million non-cash gain related to the termination of a lease that would otherwise have expired in 2032. It reduces future fixed lease payments by $102 million.

DDM features such brands as Martha Stewart, Better Homes & Gardens and Southern Living.

“It was a strong quarter and we are back to what we do best: allocating capital and seizing opportunities for value creation,” says Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC, speaking about the results in general. “We completed the spin-off of Angi, repurchased 5% of the company, and are optimistic about the possibilities for deploying capital, both within our businesses and finding fertile new ground.”