By: (AP) Newspaper publisher The McClatchy Co. posted a 10 percent gain in second-quarter earnings Thursday compared with the same period a year ago, when results were weighed down by a charge.
Net income rose to $44.2 million, or 94 cents per share, from $40.1 million, or 86 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding a $2.25 million charge for the write-off of loan fees, earnings in the year-ago period totaled $42.3 million or 90 cents per share.
Revenue grew 2.2 percent to $302.8 million from $296.3 million last year, as a 3 percent rise in advertising sales helped offset a 2.2 percent decline in circulation revenue.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for earnings of 93 cents per share on sales of $305.2 million in the latest quarter.
McClatchy's chief executive Gary Pruitt said the higher earnings came despite "an uneven year in terms of advertising activity."
Looking ahead, McClatchy said it still believes 2005 is going to be a "solid year," with advertising revenue growth in the mid single-digit range in the second half.
But the company said it expected third-quarter earnings to range between 82 cents and 84 cents per share, below the 86 cents per share that analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting. The company reaffirmed full-year profit guidance of $3.45 to $3.55 per share.
The company's shares rose $1.82 or 2.7 percent to $68.32 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., McClatchy publishes 12 daily newspapers, including the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, The Sacramento Bee and The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C.
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