New York Times Co. Blog

Bulletin: NYT Co. reports Q2 financial results

2010-07-22T08:45:00.001-04:00

The NYT Co. has just moved its second-quarter financial statement on Business Wire. The New York Times has now moved a story. Following is an excerpt of the company's statement:

The New York Times Company announced today 2010 second-quarter results.

Total revenues increased 1.2 percent to $589.6 million in the second quarter of 2010 compared with the second quarter of 2009, an improvement from the first quarter 2010 decline of 3.2 percent compared with the first quarter of 2009.

Operating costs excluding depreciation, amortization and severance declined 3.7 percent in the second quarter of 2010 versus the second quarter of 2009. On a GAAP basis, the Company's operating costs declined 4.3 percent in the second quarter of 2010 versus the second quarter of 2009.

Operating profit excluding depreciation, amortization, severance and a special item in 2009 grew 39.4 percent to $92.6 million in the second quarter of 2010 compared with $66.4 million in the second quarter of 2009. On a GAAP basis, operating profit more than doubled to $60.8 million in the second quarter of 2010 compared with $23.5 million in the second quarter of 2009.

Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations excluding severance and the special items discussed below more than doubled to $.18 per share in the second quarter of 2010 compared with $.08 in the same period of 2009. On a GAAP basis, the Company had diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $.21 per share in the second quarter of 2010 compared with $.27 in the second quarter of 2009.

The Company continues to manage its liquidity, reducing its debt and capital lease obligations, net of cash and cash equivalents by approximately one third to $670 million from its balance at the beginning of 2009, even after making pension contributions totaling $87.5 million in the second quarter of 2010. The majority of the Company's debt matures in 2015 or later.

"These positive results continued to build on the momentum of the past few quarters as the Company was able to increase revenues and decrease operating costs," said Janet L. Robinson, president and chief executive officer, The New York Times Company. "In the second quarter, total revenues increased 1 percent, reversing the first quarter 2010 decline of 3 percent, as we experienced positive trending in both print and digital advertising revenues.

"Solid growth in digital advertising revenues, which rose 21 percent, offset a 6 percent decrease in print advertising, and advertising revenues ended the quarter roughly flat compared with the second quarter of last year. Online advertising revenues have become a larger part of our mix and made up 26 percent of the Company's total advertising revenues in the 2010 second quarter, up from 22 percent in the same prior-year period.

"Based on the early part of the third quarter, third-quarter revenue trends for print advertising are expected to improve from the levels of the second quarter, while digital advertising is expected to trend in the mid to high teens. The low-single digit circulation revenue growth we experienced in the first part of 2010 is not expected to continue in the second half of the year, as we will be cycling past the June 2009 price increases at The New York Times and The Boston Globe and thus expect 3 to 5 percent declines in circulation revenues in the third quarter.

"The Company is well-positioned to thrive in the evolving media marketplace, thanks to the significant progress we are making in reinventing our enterprise. Despite an increasingly competitive environment and volatile economic conditions, we believe that by staying committed to our brand promise of high quality journalism that engages audiences with our content across multiple platforms, when and where they want it, we will ensure The New York Times Company remains a dominant force in the media landscape."

Top Pop | Beauty, van der Sloot, 'flash crash'

2010-06-08T13:50:00.001-04:00

[van der Sloot]

Most popular right now on the websites of:

The New York Times: Off runway, brazilian beauty goes beyond blond
USA Today: Joran van der Sloot confesses to killing Lima woman
The Wall Street Journal: DJIA slides under 'flash crash' low

Slow traffic ahead: Memorial Day and the Internet

2010-05-31T00:00:00.002-04:00

In my home state of Rhode Island, Memorial Day traditionally marks the start of beach-going season. Families head for the shore, opening beach houses for another summer away from scorching city temperatures. These days, I know something else that starts this three-day weekend: Internet traffic begins falling, and remains low during much of the summer, as more people vacation and stay away from the Web.

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

[Photo: bather at Pompano Beach, Fla., by Eric Thayer of The New York Times via Gawker]

In death, Gary Coleman's signature line lives on

2010-05-28T19:59:00.002-04:00

The sixth most-popular story on The New York Times's website right now: today's death of former child star Gary Coleman. He was 42.

Top Pop | Nelson's braids, oil spat and setback

2010-05-27T17:25:00.003-04:00

[Nelson]

Most popular right now on the websites of:

The New York Times: Setback delays ‘Top Kill’ effort to seal leaking oil well in Gulf
USA Today: Braids be gone: Willie Nelson gets a haircut
The Wall Street Journal: Big spat on rig preceded explosion

Boston | Ad chief Martin quits for Gannett post

2010-05-25T16:22:00.006-04:00

The Boston Globe's chief advertising officer, Senior Vice President Sam Martin (left), is leaving the company to become publisher of the Montgomery Advertiser, a small Alabama newspaper owned by the Gannett Co., which announced the appointment earlier today.

Martin is moving to a newspaper with a considerably smaller readership. The Globe's circulation is about 230,000 daily, and 379,000 on Sunday, according to the latest ABC figures, as of March 31. Montgomery's is just 35,827 daily, and 44,120 on Sunday.

At the Globe, Gannett says, Martin was responsible for the integrated sales of that daily, plus its Boston.com website, The Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Globe Direct and Metro Boston.

Martin had previously worked for Gannett as senior vice president of marketing at The Cincinnati Enquirer from, 1999-2002, and director of advertising at The News Journal in Wilmington, Del., from 1993-1999.

Stock | NYT Co. shares dive near 2010 lows

2010-05-25T14:53:00.002-04:00

The company's stock recently traded for $8.77 a share, down nearly 2%, and bringing it close to its year-to-date trading low of $8.39, set on Friday. Markets overall are being roiled by growing worries over conflict between North and South Korea, plus dim prospects for the European debt crisis.

Major market indexes are lower: The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 have both fallen about 1%.

Top Pop | Landis confessions, Valentino T-shirts

2010-05-20T23:32:00.002-04:00

[Landis]

Most popular right now on the websites of:

The New York Times: Landis admits doping, accuses top U.S. cyclists
The Wall Street Journal: The T-shirt, Valentino-style
USA Today: Floyd Landis comes clean, accuses Lance Armstrong

Stock | Publishers dip in broad market retreat

2010-05-20T12:40:00.001-04:00

Major newspaper publishers's stocks are following overall stock markets lower, on renewed investor worries over E.U. debt. Recent trading in stocks I follow:

Gannett: $14.79, down 3.3%
New York Times Co.: $8.52, down 6.5%
News Corp.: $15.04, down 4.8%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 277 points, or 2.7%. The S&P 500 is down 33 points, or 3%.

The broad retreat is stocks, according to The Wall Street Journal, came on mounting worries over Europe's will to address its debt woes as unions went on strike in Greece and investors fretted that trading regulations like those introduced this week in Germany could be adopted in other countries.

Top Pop | Doubtful vet, Travolta dogs, health care

2010-05-18T14:48:00.004-04:00

[Travolta]

Most popular stories right now on the websites of:

The New York Times: Candidate’s words on Vietnam service differ from history
USA Today: Dogs in Travolta's family killed at airport
The Wall Street Journal: No, you can't keep your health plan

NYT to reveal paywall pricing latter part of year

2010-05-17T14:50:00.000-04:00

From a new post on the Business Insider:

The New York Times will announce the pricing and specifics of its online metered paywall model toward the latter part of the year, the company's senior vice president of digital operations, Martin Nisenholtz, said during a presentation at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in Boston today.

The so-called metered paywall goes up in January, NYT Executive Editor Bill Keller, said last week.

Stock | NYT outlook dims as E.U. bank fears build

2010-05-16T22:53:00.003-04:00

After falling nearly 3% on Friday, NYT Co. shares resume trading tomorrow morning as fear in the financial markets is building again -- this time over worries Europe's biggest banks face strains that will hobble European economies.

"Bourses and bank shares in Europe plunged on Friday because of these fears," The New York Times says, with Wall Street following suit.

Shares were also down in Tokyo and Australia in early trading on Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.1% to 19,732.12, MarketWatch is reporting, falling back below the psychologically important 20,000 level; the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 2.9% to 11,254.22.

Related: the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the S&P 500 Index

Times said to start charging for Web in January

2010-05-14T00:51:00.000-04:00

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that The New York Times will begin charging for access to articles on its website in January. The Journal cites remarks that NYT Executive Editor Bill Keller made at a dinner for the Foreign Press Association this last night.

The WSJ report notes the Times unveiled a plan early this year to begin charging for access to the Web version of its flagship newspaper. "Keller's comments helped pinpoint the timing of the plan,'' the Journal says.

Ailing Punch Sulzberger misses wife's memorial

2010-05-09T14:45:00.009-04:00

A Spokesman-Review story today, about a memorial service for the recently deceased wife of NYT Co. Chairman Emeritus Arthur "Punch" Sulzberger Sr., 84 (left), notes that he was unable to attend Saturday's event at Spokane, Wash., because of unspecified "poor health." His son, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., spoke in is stead.

“When Allison would leave to go to Spokane . . . his voice was gone,” Sulzberger said of his father, who was quiet and subdued in her absence, the Spokesman-Review story says. When she came home, he’d say, “Hello, sweetheart,” the happiness apparent in his voice, his son recalled. “The greatest gift she gave us was that of love,” Sulzberger said, “in her words and in her deeds.”

Cowles, 75, died at her Spokane home on April 25 from pancreatic cancer. She was the matriarch of the family that owns the Spokane paper.

Urgent: In broad market rout, NYT Co. down 5%

2010-05-06T14:43:00.002-04:00

Company shares finally closed at $9.21, down 45 cents, or 4.7%, as stock markets overall plunged on growing worries over the debt crisis in Europe. NYT Co.'s performance was worse than broader stock market indexes: The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both dived 3.2%. At one point, the Dow fell by nearly 1,000. (Updated at 5:25 p.m. ET.)

Layoffs | Targeted cuts said smarter in recovery

2010-05-05T12:49:00.001-04:00

In a new story, The Wall Street Journal reports today that companies taking a limited and more-targeted approach to layoffs tend to do better in economic recoveries than those that slash employment sharply and across the board. "You can't shrink your way into prosperity," Wayne Cascio, a business professor at the University of Colorado, Denver, told the WSJ.

The current recovery will test notion, the Journal says, because many companies made unusually steep and rapid layoffs during the Great Recession. NYT Co. dramatically reduced employment last year, eliminating 18% of its global workforce.

Stock | NYT pummeled in broad market selloff

2010-05-04T14:55:00.000-04:00

NYT Co.'s stock recently traded for $9.65 a share, down 52 cents, or 5.11%, as broader markets dived on renewed concerns over the European Union's bailout plan for Greece. NYT's plunge is greater than other market measures: The S&P 500 Index was recently down 2.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is off 2.2%, or 248 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite has fallen 3.2%.

Quiz | Match Sulzberger's 'obscene' salary, layoffs

2010-05-03T16:25:00.002-04:00

In a new post today, Vanity Fair magazine promises "fun with capitalism" in a multiple-choice quiz: Match the executive's salary to news about his company’s layoffs. The glossy says: "The lucky champion will win . . . a renewed disgust with this country’s fetishization of avarice!"

Noted: NYT Co. Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. is No. 5 on the list.

Related: Gawker says media CEOs paid as if they ran successful companies

[Image: Cover of the current issue featuring World Cup 2010 players]

NYT spotlights big 2009 paydays for media chiefs

2010-05-03T12:31:00.001-04:00

Top executives at the country’s largest media companies continued to reel in multimillion-dollar pay packages in 2009, a year of widespread cost-cutting throughout the industry, The New York Times reports this morning. In several cases, the packages even increased from the year before. Among the executives listed: NYT Co. CEO Janet Robinson (left) was paid $4.9 million in 2009, 26% more than the year before, and Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the chairman, made $4.8 million, a 171% increase. Last year, company-wide employment plunged 18%, to 7,665, following layoffs. Over the same period, NYT stock jumped 69%, to $12.36 a share at the end of the year.

In Times Square near-bombing, it's advantage: NYT

2010-05-02T16:16:00.002-04:00

The Wall Street Journal missed the big local story in print because it doesn't publish on Sundays. In the rising battle over New York City news, that gave The New York Times an advantage. Still, it kept the play modest, limiting it on the front page to the traditional far-right column lede position (bigger view):

The two papers are now duking it out online, of course. Screenshots, taken moments ago; click on images for bigger view:

[Image: front page, Newseum]

Stock | NYT, other newspaper shares get creamed

2010-04-27T16:17:00.003-04:00

NYT Co.'s stock closed moments ago at $10.45 a share, down 7.3%, as newspaper stocks swooned during a day when markets overall fell on worries over Europe's growing debt crisis.

The news stocks were hit harder, however. Gannett closed at $17.54, down 6%. Shares in News Corp. fell 3.3%, closing at $17.98. The S&P 500 Index, a broader measure of overall stock market activity, fell 2.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 213 points, or 1.9%, Google Finance says.

As battle heats up, WSJ continues circ gains on NYT

2010-04-26T11:32:00.004-04:00

The Wall Street Journal eked out a small circulation gain during the six months ended March 31 from a year ago, an industry group report says today, as the daily racheted up its competition with The New York Times with a new section devoted to New York City.

The Journal topped this morning's Audit Bureau of Circulations list of the nation’s largest-circulation daily newspapers, trade journal Editor & Publisher is reporting. The WSJ was the only daily among the 10 largest to gain circulation in the latest six-month period, E&P says.

The third national daily, USA Today, continued to see its circulation drop, although losses moderated from the the previous six-month period.

Top three dailies
USAT remained No. 2 among the 10 largest, E&P says:

The Wall Street Journal

March 31, 2010: 2,092,523
March 31, 2009: 2,082,189
Change: +0.5%

USA Today

1,826,622
2,113,725
-13.58%

The New York Times

951,063
1,039,032
-8.47%

Urgent: Harbinger dumps another 3.3M shares

2010-04-22T17:12:00.006-04:00

That's according to a just-filed notice to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Activist investor Harbinger Capital's sale of two blocks -- 1.5 million and 1.75 million -- took place yesterday and Tuesday, for between $12.30 and $12.55 a share, the document says.

I'm posting from my iPhone; will update later.

Q1 earnings beat forecasts, but shares sink

2010-04-22T12:04:00.009-04:00

The company today reported first quarter net income $12.8 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with a year-ago loss of $74.5 million, or 52 cents a share. Overall advertising revenue declines continued to moderate, dropping 6%, according to the NYT Co.'s statement.

The quarter included 3 cents per share in special charges. Overall revenue fell 3.2%, to $587.9 million. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 5 cents a share on revenue of $578 million.

Still, Wall Street beat up shares on a day when overall stock markets were down sharply: NYT's stock recently traded for $12.29, down 45 cents, or 3.5%.

In a crucial measure of future growth, the company said digital advertising sales jumped 18%, significantly offsetting a 12% decrease in print advertising.

NYT Co. continued to benefit from cost reductions over the past 12 months that included layoffs at the flagship New York Times. Employment plunged 18% last year, to 7,665 workers, public documents show.

Related: The Wall Street Journal's story on the results, and NYT's.

What happens when you lose a very special iPhone

2010-04-20T13:37:00.002-04:00

"There is no one else on the planet whose shoes I would less like to be in it at the moment."

-- Paul Saffo, a veteran Silicon Valley forecaster, speaking to The New York Times about a closely guarded prototype of the next iPhone, left behind in a Silicon Valley restaurant. That story is currently the most-read on the paper's website.