By: (AP) Newspaper publisher Pulitzer Inc., whose publications include the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Arizona Daily Star, reported a 13 percent increase in third-quarter earnings Tuesday, citing growth in advertising sales.
Pulitzer earned $10.6 million, or 49 cents a share, for the three-month period ending Sept. 26, up from $9.4 million, or 43 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, the St. Louis-based company earned 50 cents per share in the latest quarter, two cents above the estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
Revenues rose 6 percent to $109.7 million from $103.3 million a year ago.
CEO Robert Woodworth said advertising revenue at the company's newspapers jumped 7.4 percent, reflecting continued strong growth in classified and preprint advertising. Classified advertising rose 9.7 percent, despite a decrease in automotive advertising due to a just-ended strike by mechanics at St. Louis-area automobile dealerships.
For the first nine months of the year, Pulitzer earned $30.5 million, or $1.39 per share, compared with $27.9 million, or $1.29 per share, for the same period in 2003. Nine-month revenues rose 6 percent to $325.5 million from $308.6 million.
Pulitzer also operates a dozen other daily newspapers and owns the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, a group of 65 weekly papers and niche publications.
Pulitzer's shares were off 14 cents at $51.16 in morning trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
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