Nielsen announced its first half financial results today. The company, which publishes television ratings and magazines including Billboard and the Hollywood Reporter, reported quarterly revenues of $1.28 billion, a 6 percent slide.
Through the first six months of the year, the company’s revenues were also down 6 percent.
Operating income was up slightly, despite taking a $27 million hit in restructuring costs during the first half.
But quarterly revenue for Nielsen Business Media, which includes Billboard, Adweek and the Hollywood Reporter, fell more than 30 percent to $91 million. Operating income was down more than 70 percent.
“There’s absolutely no top-line movement,” said Brian West, Nielsen’s CFO, during a conference call. The problems with its publications, he said, are the same as those in the broader B-to-B publishing industry, which is in decline.
The company posted a quarterly net loss of $9 million, compared to a $15 million profit last year.
Revenues for its media segment, which includes its television audience and Internet ratings services, rose about 10 percent to $475 million during the second quarter; revenue for its market research businesses — roughly $661 million — slid 10 percent.
West said that he’s hopeful of a comeback for the company’s trade shows, and stability in Nielsen’s other businesses. “It’s really a print publishing issue.”
