Year End Revenues Up 7.5% For Valassi

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2003, Livonia, MI-based marketing services firm Valassis reported fourth-quarter revenues were up 2.8% from the same period in 2002, to $238.3 million with net earnings of $23.5 million.

Year-end revenues were up 7.5% to $916.5 million with annual net earnings of $103.7 million.

Co-op free-standing insert (FSI) revenues for the fourth quarter were $110.1 million, down 20.7%. FSI revenues for the year were $490.6 million, down 14.0% due primarily to the reduction in market share and, to a lesser extent, lower pricing. Run of press (ROP) revenues, generated from the brokering of advertising space on behalf of newspapers, were up 19.8% for the quarter to $13.3 million and up 34.3% for the year to $55.2 million.

Revenues from cluster targeted products — reaching neighborhoods based on geographic and demographic characteristics — increased 10.7% for the quarter to $79.6 million, and ended the year up 26.3% at $250.7 million. The increase was attributed to continued growth in polybag advertising and solo inserts, and a rebound in customer product sampling.

Loyalty marketing revenues increased 40% for the quarter to $11.2 million due to strong growth in the direct mail category. Year-end revenues were $38.8 million, up 15.8% from the prior year.

International and services revenues were $24.1 million for the fourth quarter, up from $1.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2002, due to the acquisition of NCH Marketing Services. International & Services revenues for the year totaled $81.2 million, compared to $8.5 million in 2002.