The New York Times Company reported a $4.3 million net loss on Tuesday — a result of a decline in advertising and circulation revenue, but offset a bit by an increase in digital ad sales.
Overall, revenue — at $554.3 million — fell 2.7 percent. Overall advertising revenue for the Times slid 1 percent, with a 5.8 percent drop in print advertising at the Times News Media Group. But digital advertising — which now makes up 27 percent of the company’s overall revenue — jumped 14.6 percent. (This is a good trend ahead of the Times' planned online paywall, slated to debut during the first quarter of 2011.)
Despite the 3-cents-per-share slide, the company improved on its 25 cents-per-share loss during the third quarter of 2009.
The Times Company said it expects “modest” improvement in the print advertising market, and digital ads to continue to grow in the low double digits.
But the company also warned investors that circulation revenues will continue to slide, and the price of newsprint is expected to increase.
