By: Washington Post Co., publisher of The Washington Post and Newsweek, said Friday its second-quarter profit was essentially flat, and widely missed Wall Street's expectations.
Net income totaled $78.5 million, or $8.17 per share, compared with $78.5 million, or $8.16 per share, during the same period last year. This year's results included charges of $31.4 million, or $3.27 per share, related to early retirement plan buyouts at The Washington Post newspaper and the corporate office. The expenses are mostly being funded from pension plan assets, the company said.
The results also included $4.8 million, or 50 cents per share, in nonrecurring transition costs from the acquisition of Kaplan businesses offset by $6.4 million, or 67 cents per share, in insurance recoveries from cable division losses related to Hurricane Katrina and $19.6 million, or $2.04 per share, in non-operating gains from the sales of marketable securities.
Excluding items, the company earned $9.23 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for higher earnings of $9.51 per share, on average.
Quarterly revenue increased 8 percent to $969 million from $897.6 million in the prior-year period on growth in its education division. Revenue in the education unit rose 18 percent to $409.2 million from $345.8 million. Sales in its newspaper publishing, television broadcasting and cable television divisions also climbed, but revenue were down at the magazine publishing unit.
Consensus estimates pegged revenue at $985.4 million.
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