NY Times misses Q3 revenue expectations, stock tumbles

The New York Times Co reported worse-than-expected results on Thursday as advertisers cut spending on both print and digital outlets, sending shares down 12 percent.

The newspaper company said that revenue was up almost 1 percent to $449 million. Still, the result missed the analysts' consensus estimate of $479.23 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Adjusting for severance costs and other special items, the company reported a quarterly loss of 1 cent per share, well below expectations of earnings of 8 cents per share.

The slight uptick in revenue was due to a 7.4 percent rise in circulation revenue helped by the company's digital subscription plans.

But as the company tries to rely more on circulation for its revenue, advertising sales are in a persistent slump.

It wasn't a nice quarter on revenue, said Edward Atorino, an analyst with Benchmark Co. The advertising numbers look terrible. I thought they might do a little better. They are caught up in the downslide like everybody else.

The stock dropped 12 percent to $9.37 in morning trade.

Digital Revenue Drops

ming primarily from its namesake newspaper and the Boston Globe, dropped almost 11 percent from a year earlier - an even steeper decline than the previous quarter.

Digital ad revenue, which has been a bright spot for the company, fell 2.2 percent.

The company attributed the declines to the challenging economic environment, ongoing secular trends and an increasingly complex and fragmented digital advertising marketplace.

Advertising revenue at The New York Times newspaper depends largely on national accounts from sectors like telecommunications and technology that use the daily to reach people across the United States.

I think that really reflects that national newspaper revenue is much more exposed to secular pressures than the local retailer, said Leo Culp, an analyst with Citi.

The trend of declining national ad revenue was apparent at Gannett Co, the largest newspaper chain in the United States, and its national newspaper USA Today, a competitor to the Times.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Inflation-linked bonds to debut soon

SKS Microfinance posts profit of Rs 2.7 cr in fourth quarter, after mammoth loss

China incursion on Salman Khurshid agenda in Beijing, but trade on top

Cognizant Technology Solutions Q1 net profit rises 16.6%, maintains outlook