Times
Co., N.E. affiliates’ 3rd-quarter financial results down
The New York Times Co.,
posted a third-quarter loss, as did its New England Media Group, which
includes The Boston Globe and the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester,
Mass.
Total revenue for the New
England Media group was down 12.6 percent, to $109 million, in the
third quarter compared to last year’s third quarter. The group’s
advertising revenue dropped 27.2 percent, to $53 million, but circulation revenue
was up 18.4 percent, to $45 miillion, for the comparable periods.
The Times Co.’s total third-quarter
revenue fell to $570.6 million, down 16.9 percent from last year’s
third-quarter total revenue of $687 million. Its advertising revenue
fell 26.9 percent during that comparative period, from $398 million
in 2008 to $290 million in 2009.
Despite
showing a loss, the Times Co. exceeded forecasts because of cost-cutting
and newspaper price increases, according to The New York Times.
“Our third-quarter
results reflect the positive benefits of the sustained actions we
have been aggressively pursuing to reposition our business for the
evolving future of the media industry,” Janet L. Robinson, president
and chief executive officer of the Times Co., said.
Actions the Times Co. have
taken include increasing circulation revenue by 6.7 percent; restructuring
debt and focusing on long-term stability; and managing its asset portfolio
to strengthen its core operations, according to a press release.
The Times Co.
said it had dropped plans to sell the Globe but is trying to move
ahead with the sale of its 17.75 percent stake in New England Sports
Ventures, which includes the Boston Red Sox and New England Sports
Network, a regional cable television channel. The company completed
the sale of its New York City radio station, WQXR, for $45 million
in October.
Providence
Journal parent has smaller 3rd-quarter loss
Dallas-based A.H. Belo
Corp., parent of The Providence (R.I.) Journal and The Dallas Morning
News, has reported a smaller loss in this year’s third quarter
than the company had last year in the same quarter, according to Editor
& Publisher.
Belo
lost $5.8 million, or 28 cents a share, in the third quarter, compared
to $17.3 million, or 84 cents a share, in the third quarter of 2008.
Cuts at A.H. Belo’s
papers led to the lessened loss, including operating expenses reduced
by $143.8 million, or 19.8 percent, from the third quarter a year
ago, Editor & Publisher said.
Print and Internet advertising
revenue declined by 27 percent, and classified ad revenue was down
40.6 percent in the third quarter from the comparable period a year
ago, E&P reported.
Circulation revenue was
up 11.6 percent because of higher prices for both papers, E&P
said.
Robert W. Decherd, Belo’s
chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement: “The
year-to-year percent decline in advertising revenue eased slightly
in the third quarter when compared to the first and second quarters
of 2009, due to the improved performance of The Dallas Morning News.”
Gannett
Co.’s third-quarter profit, revenue declines
Gannett Co., the McLean,
Va.-based publisher of 84 daily newspapers, including The Burlington
(Vt.) Free Press, and 850 non-daily publications, announced Oct. 19
that its third-quarter profit dropped by 53 percent.
The company earned $73.8
million, or 31 cents a share, in the third quarter this year and $158 million,
or 69 cents a share, during the same period in 2008.
Gannett also announced
for the third-quarter that, compared with the third quarter in 2008:
• Overall revenue
was down by 18 percent
•
Publishing revenue was down by 23.5 percent
• Print newspaper
advertising revenue was down by 28.4 percent
• Retail
advertising was down by 22.4 percent
• U.S. advertising
revenue was down by 26 percent
• All major classified
ad categories were down: automotive by 35 percent, real estate
by 37 percent and employment by 56 percent
Craig Dubow, chairman
and chief executive officer of Gannett, told Editor & Publisher
that “our operating expenses were significantly lower in the
quarter, reflecting substantially lower newsprint expense ... (Gannett)
finished the quarter on a stronger note with better-than-anticipated
results due primarily to better trends in advertising and greater
efficiencies across all of our business segments.”
The items
above were written from published reports by Erin Klopfenstein, a
graduate student at the Northeastern University School of Journalism
and member of the Bulletin staff.
