By: E&P Staff Dow Jones & Co. reported today it earned $.43 per share for Q4, compared with $.54 for the same period last year. Excluding special items, the company earned $.43 per share, flat when compared to the same quarter last year.
For the entire year, earnings came in at $1.21 per share compared with $2.08 per share the previous year. Excluding special items, the company earned $1.21 per share compared with $.96 during the same quarter last year.
For Q1, the company estimates that EPS will fall in the range of $.12 to $.15, below the $.22 it earned for the same quarter last year.
Revenue for Q4 increased 3.9% to $437.2 million. Operating income dropped 6.5% to $51.7 million.
"We were pleased to have increased revenue, profit and margins in the quarter and the year in light of the continuing difficult B2B print advertising environment," said Peter Kann, chairman and CEO of Dow Jones, in a statement. "In 2004, we set the stage for future growth as we controlled costs, improved the quality of our products and invested in our future.
"Last week's acquisition of MarketWatch and our planned September 2005 launch of the Weekend Edition of the Journal are the two most recent examples. These major initiatives are pillars of our new three-year strategic plan. Both will fuel profitable growth while also diversifying our reliance on B2B print advertising."
Print publishing revenue in Q4 slipped 2.1% to $247.9 million. Advertising lineage at The Wall Street Journal declined 5.1% for Q4 and dropped 9.9% for the month of December. Lineage for the general category was up slightly, .9% in Q4. Technology lineage fell 26.8%, financial dropped 8.7%, and classified/other rose 6.4%.
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