By: E&P Staff Augusta, Geo.-based Morris Publishing Group LLC reported its third-quarter net income was $6.9 million, down $1.6 million, or 18.8%, from $8.5 million in the same period in 2005.
Morris said operating income in the quarter was $20.4 million, down $3.4 million, or 14.4%, from $23.8 million for the year-ago period.
Total operating revenue for the third quarter was $117.4 million, up $3.7 million, or 3.2%, from $113.7 million in the 2005 quarter.
Total advertising revenue increased 4.4% to $96.4 million. Morris said its retail ad revenue increased 3.1% to $47.7 million; classified advertising increased 6.5% to $43.0 million; and national was up 0.2% to $5.7 million, up 0.2%.
In a continuing trend, circulation revenue declined 1.4% to $17.3 million.
Total operating expenses for the quarter were up 1.9% to $97.1 million, Morris said, chiefly on a 6.3% increase in newsprint and supplies plus a 5.7% rise in "other" operating costs that were only partially offset by a 2.0% decrease in employee costs.
Morris said it sold its Savannah production facility for $7.2 million, and realized a $5.0 million pre-tax gain.
Excluding this gain, operating income for the quarter was up $1.6 million, or 8.6%.
Group President and CEO William S. Morris IV credited strong retail gains at The Florida Times-Union for contributing strongly to the ad revenue increase. "We are doing a good job of managing our expenses and we continue to benefit from gains in the classified advertising revenue category at most of our newspapers," Morris said in a statement.
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