Earnings Preview: The New York Times Co.

By: New York Times Co. reports earnings for the fourth quarter on Thursday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: Newspaper publisher New York Times reported a 1.7 percent increase in November continuing revenue, as a gain at the company's About Internet division helped overcome advertising declines. The news media group, which includes The New York Times, Boston Globe and regional newspapers, saw ad sales slip 1.2 percent, hurt by a drop-off in classified ads.

The company is just one of many in the sector that continues to struggle with declining ad revenue as consumers shift their attention to the Internet.

Also in November, New York Times said it would eliminate about a dozen support staff jobs from its newsroom. The move was not to include reporter layoffs, but was said to involve the closing of a newsroom support unit called the recording room, where stories or speeches are transcribed, and the loss of several clerical and secretarial jobs.

The same month, 16 regional newspapers owned by New York Times joined Yahoo Inc.'s online publishing partners, bringing its total number to about 415 dailies and another 140 weeklies. However, the New York Times itself did not join the consortium.

The New York Times' other media properties include more than 30 Web sites such as NYTimes.com and About.com.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial predict a fourth-quarter profit of 48 cents per share on revenue of $881.8 million.

ANALYST TAKE: Wachovia Capital Markets LLC's John Janedis expects quarterly net income of 45 cents per share. In a client note Tuesday, the analyst downgraded New York Times to "Underperform" from "Market Perform," saying the publisher is facing continued ad revenue pressures. Janedis predicts weaker ad sales in 2008 in categories including national auto, movies, airlines and classifieds.

WHAT'S AHEAD: A pair of investors announced Monday they plan to name a slate of four directors at New York Times, saying the current board is not aggressive enough to meet the industry's changing demands. Firebrand Partners and Harbinger Partners said in a regulatory filing that together they own 4.9 percent of New York Times shares. The New York Times said Friday Harbinger notified it of its plans to name four directors for election.

The Sulzberger family holds supervoting stock allowing them to elect nine of the New York Times 13 directors. Firebrand and Harbinger have said they don't plan on changing the company's two-class share structure, which allows the Sulzbergers to maintain control.

New York Times will hold its next annual meeting on April 22.

STOCK PERFORMANCE: Shares of New York Times dropped 14 percent during the quarter and fell 26 percent for 2007.