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New York Times Revenue Falls Short on Advertising, Circulation Declines
New York Times Co., publisher of the namesake newspaper, posted third-quarter sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates as advertising and circulation revenue declined.
Third-quarter sales slid 2.7 percent to $554.3 million, the New York-based company said today in a statement. Analysts had predicted $558.8 million on average, according to a Bloomberg survey. Times Co. also reported earnings that topped estimates as pension expenses declined.
“They missed the top line by a smidgen, and managed to beat the bottom line by a smidgen,” said Edward J. Atorino, an analyst at Benchmark Co. LLC in New York. “I don’t guess it’s anything to get too excited about.”
Chief Executive Officer Janet Robinson is trimming costs as revenue slumps. The company, faced with competition from News Corp.’s Wall Street Journal, has posted a sales decline in 10 of the past 11 quarters. Readers are also increasingly seeking their news from the Web, where stories are updated more frequently.
Times Co. fell 25 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $7.79 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has declined 37 percent this year.
The company’s net loss shrank to $4.26 million, or 3 cents a share, from $35.6 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Excluding some items, profit was 7 cents a share, compared with a 5-cent profit projected by analysts.
Advertising revenue declined 1 percent to $287 million, and circulation revenue declined 4.8 percent to $229.1 million, the company said. Digital advertising revenue increased 14.6 percent to $78.3 million, while print advertising declined 5.8 percent. The company said it expects fourth-quarter print advertising to improve modestly, and digital to be up by 10 percent.
Online Pay Model
The company said it is making progress in plans to begin charging readers for New York Times’ content online. It will allow people to read some stories without charge if they come to the website from social networks such as Facebook Inc. or search engines like Google Inc., the company said.
“We have determined that the model will allow readers referred from third-party sites such as blogs, social media networks and search engines access to that content without triggering the gate,” Robinson said in a statement today.
Last month, Robinson said the New York Times newspaper is experiencing “no impact” on its business as a result of the Wall Street Journal’s new local New York City section. She also said the company’s digital-advertising business “continues to be strong.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Brett Pulley in New York at bpulley@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net
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