Times Company Posts a Profit but Revenue Slips

The New York Times Company reported third-quarter net income of $2.28 million on Thursday, a decline of more than 85 percent from the period a year earlier, when the company posted a large gain on the sale of investments and took a charge for paying down its debt ahead of schedule.

The net income is equal to about 2 cents a share, compared with net income of $15.7 million, or 10 cents a share, in the third quarter of 2011. Total revenue declined 0.6 percent, to $449 million, dragged down by continuing weakness in advertising revenue, which fell 8.9 percent, to $182.6 million, from $200.5 million.

Print advertising at the company's newspapers, which include The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The International Herald Tribune, shrank 10.9 percent, and digital advertising across the company fell 2.2 percent.

But overall revenue was buoyed by the continued growth of paid subscriptions for the digital editions, helping increase circulation revenue by 7.4 percent, to $234.9 million, from $218.6 million.

The number of paid subscribers to the Web site, e-reader and other digital editions of The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune reached about 566,000, an 11 percent increase from the second quarter, the company said. The Boston Globe and BostonGlobe.com also grew, by 13 percent, to about 26,000 subscribers.

“While our results for the third quarter reflect continued pressure on advertising revenues, total circulation revenues rose, led by the ongoing expansion of our digital subscription base,” Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the chairman and chief executive of the Times Company, said in a statement. “Digital subscriptions have remained robust.”

Operating costs grew a modest 2.3 percent. Operating profit declined 59.6 percent, to $8.5 million, from $21 million.

In the last year, The Times has become a smaller company, selling off its regional newspaper group in December and its stake in the regional sports network NESN in July. In the fourth quarter, the company expects to register the pretax profit from two other transactions - the $300 million sale of the About Group and the $167 million sale of the company's interest in the job search Web site Indeed.com.

“The after-tax proceeds from these transactions further strengthened our solid liquidity position,” Mr. Sulzberger said.

The company listed debt and lease obligations of $776.9 million and cash and short-term investments totaling $614 million.