New York Times reports 2007 Q3 results

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The New York Times Company announced Q3 revenues increased 2% to 754.4 million from 739.6 million. Ad revenues decreased 0.1%; circulation revenues increased 3.9%; and other revenues rose 11.5%. Operating costs increased 0.6% to 726.3 million from 721.7 million. Q3 earnings per share from continuing operations of .10, compared with .06 in Q3 last year. EPS from continuing operations was .15 compared with .09 in Q3 last year. Operating profit increased 57.1% to 28.1 million from 17.9 million in Q3 of 2006 while operating profit excluding depreciation and amortization increased 46.4% to 79.9 million from 54.6 million in Q3 2006.


The company continues to move assets from print to online. Janet Robinson, NYT CEO, said the company’s websites has helped the company become the 10th most visited parent company on the web in the US: "With 44.2 million unique visitors in September, up 12% from Q3 2006, our reach represents nearly 28% of the online audience in the US. Last month, Nielsen NetRatings ranked NYTimes.com the number one newspaper website-a position it has long held."
She added, "…in total, our digital businesses grew 26.5% in the quarter and generated 79.7 million or 11% of the company’s revenues. Revenue growth for our online properties has been higher than our peers."

The Q4 outlook remains in question, said Robinson: "While September was a strong month, with advertising revenues up 5.5%, visibility on the fourth quarter remains limited. To date in October, advertising is not as strong as it was in September."