New York Times Co posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and for the first time in three years increased revenue as advertising stabilised and readers paid more for its newspapers. The publisher on Thursday said advertising revenue was about flat in the second quarter, raising hopes among investors that the newspaper business might recover after a prolonged slump, according to Reuters. Total revenue rose 1 percent.
Shares of the company, owner of the Times and The Boston Globe, rose 3 per cent to $9.32 in early trading. "I think the New York Times turned to growth faster than the others," said Noble Financial analyst Michael Kupinski. "The whole industry seems like it's doing a little bit better."
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Ad revenue should improve in the third quarter, New York Times Co Chief Executive Janet Robinson said. Digital ad revenue rose 21 per cent, offsetting a 6 per cent decline in print advertising. The company said online ad revenue represents 26 per cent of total ad revenue in the second quarter, up from 22 per cent a year ago.
At its New York Times Media Group, which includes the Times newspaper and the International Herald Tribune, revenue rose 2 per cent to $381 million on a 1 per cent rise in ad revenue and 4 per cent rise in circulation revenue. The group's national ad revenue, an important category for the Times, rose almost 4 per cent to $156.2 million.
Rival newspaper publisher Gannett Co Inc said last week that national advertising fell about 2 per cent at its US papers, mainly because of a drop in ad revenue at USA Today.
The New York Times posted second-quarter net income of $32 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with $39 million, or 27 cents a share, a year ago. The company's adjusted profit, which excludes a gain on the sale of part of its stake in its New England sports assets, was 18 cents a share -- surpassing the average analyst estimate of 13 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue of $589.6 million also beat analysts' expectations of $576.1 million.
