Thursday, April 17, 2008

The New York Times' quarterly Results Are Not Good

The New York Times has shown an economic downturn, worse that expected as their quarterly figures are released.

The paper dropped 1.9 percent in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange, showed a loss of 10.6 percent in advertising revenues for their media division and a 4.9 percent drop in revenue.

The Gray Lady isn't what it used to be.

The company reported a first-quarter net loss of $335,000, or breakeven on a per share basis. A year ago, it posted net income of $23.9 million, or 17 cents per share, and income from continuing operations of 14 cents per share.

The results this year included a 7-cent-per-share charge to write down assets and a 3-cent-per-share gain for a tax adjustment. Excluding special items, earnings per share from continuing operations fell to 4 cents from 17 cents in the first quarter of 2007.


More on this and their other problems at CNN Money.

You can also read the transcript of the Q1 2008 earnings call, here.

Between the rise of Internet news sites and the declining journalistic integrity the NYT has shown over the last few years by reporting according to political agenda instead of actual news, it is no surprise to many of that the NYT is dropping, but the amount of that drop is surprising since it was projected to be less severe.

The NYT owns the Boston Globe which has also seen a drop in revenue.

The New England Media Group, the bulk of which is made up of the Globe, saw a 25.9 decrease in ad revenue in March compared to the same period last year. The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) said the freefall was mainly due to decreases in the travel, automotive, banking, telecommunications and financial services categories.

For the first quarter, the New England Media Group, which also contains the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, posted a 9.3 percent loss in revenue compared to first quarter of 2007.

The Times Co. reported a companywide drop of 6.4 percent in March. Ad revenue dropped 11.1 percent and circulation revenue increased 1.7 percent.


The Internet rises and the dinosaur media falls. Sounds about right.

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