By: (AP) The New York Times Co. reported a 15% decline in third quarter earnings Thursday, despite higher revenues, as the company's costs rose, particularly for newsprint and health benefits.
The company, which also publishes
The Boston Globe and the
International Herald Tribune (
IHT), earned $50.1 million in the three months ending in September, compared with $59 million in the same period a year ago.
On a per-share basis, the earnings were equivalent to 33 cents, a penny better than Wall Street analysts had been expecting, according to Thomson First Call. The company earned 38 cents per share in the same three-month period last year.
The Times Co. bought the other 50% of the
IHT that it didn't already own from The Washington Post Co. in January, and the newspaper's results have been included in 2003 earnings figures.
Advertising rose 4.9% in September, but that wasn't enough to overcome the effects of soft revenues in July and August as well as higher costs, particularly for newsprint and health benefits, Chief Financial Officer Leonard Forman said.
Total revenues rose 4% to $759.3 million versus $729.5 million, and advertising revenues rose 2.4%. But if the results from the
IHT are excluded, total revenues rose 1.5% and advertising rose 0.7%.
The company's total costs rose 8% in the period, or 5% without the
IHT. Newsprint expenses rose 13%.
For the first nine months of the year, net income edged lower to $191.8 million from $192.2 million in the same period a year ago. Revenues rose 5% to $2.34 billion from $2.24 billion.
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