Meredith Corp. and EMC Insurance Group Inc. will kick off the local part of the quarterly earnings report season by announcing their financial results before U.S. markets open Wednesday.

Meredith has said it expects to report earnings of 96 cents per share for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended June 30. A year ago, the company earned 83 cents per share. Analysts, on average, are looking for earnings of 96 cents per share on sales of $426.8 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial. The media company forecast full-year earnings of $2.86 per share, up from $2.50 per share in the previous year. Analysts are looking for a 31 percent spurt in annual revenues.

The company said advertising sales for Better Homes and Gardens magazine have not met company expectations so far in 2006. Karol DeWulf Nickell, the former editor in chief of that magazine, left the position and the company in April.

EMC will release its second-quarter earnings. One analyst has predicted a 2 percent decline in revenues, and also forecasts a 4 percent drop in revenue for the year ending Dec. 31. Second-quarter earnings per share are seen increasing to 44 cents compared with 34 cents in the year-ago period. The company said last week that it expects second-quarter operating income to be in the range of 74 cents a share to 78 cents a share, and net income between 84 cents and 88 cents a share, both exceeding expectations.

Next Monday, June 31, Principal Financial Group Inc. will release its second-quarter results approximately one hour after the markets close. Analysts predict the company will announce an 8 percent increase in revenues compared with a year ago and a 7 percent increase in earnings per share.

For the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, analysts look for Principal to post an 8 percent revenue gain to $9.7 billion and a 12 percent hike in earnings per share to $3.34.