Knight Ridder profits up 11 per cent

Third quarter profits rose 11 percent at Knight Ridder Inc., helped by a special tax gain in the quarter, a report by Reuters states. . The company did not provide an earnings outlook but said it expects revenue gains to continue in the fourth quarter as it works to keep expenses under control. A report in the Beacon Journal business section said net income increased to $76.9 million, or 99 cents a share, from $69.1 million, or 85 cents a share a year earlier. Shares rose $1.14 to $67.19. Knight Ridder with 31 newspapers is the

CEO Tony Ridder said ad revenue was strong in all major markets except Miami, where total revenue for the third quarter fell 1.7 percent. Ridder attributed the decline to the three hurricanes that struck the southeastern U.S. in September.

PRNewswire-FirstCall/ reported total advertising revenue for the quarter was $562.9 million, up 3.2% from $545.4 million in the same quarter of 2003. Total operating revenue was $722.2 million, up 2.1% from $707.2 million in the same quarter last year. Total operating profit for the quarter was $134.0 million, up 3.9% from $129.0 million in the third quarter of 2003. Net income of $76.9 million was up 11.2% from $69.1 million in the same quarter the previous year.

Commenting on the results, Ridder said, "We are pleased with the quarter's strong finish, boosted by September's very good results. Ad revenue was up 4.3% for the month, exactly the same as in August, with all of the large markets except Miami performing well. Ad revenue increases for the month ranged from 2.1% in St. Paul to 9.0% in Charlotte. Likewise, combined revenue for 18 of our mid-sized and smaller newspapers was up 8.0% in September.

"For the quarter, the pattern was similar, with all of the large markets (except Miami) showing ad revenue increases -- albeit in a tighter range. In Florida, overall revenue loss from three September hurricanes was greatest in Miami, where revenue for the month was down 4.4% and for the quarter was down 1.7%.

"Cost increases for the quarter were the lowest of the year -- up 1.7% on a 3.6% rise in newsprint, ink and supplements. Lower health care costs helped; while we had earlier anticipated their being flat for the year, we now think they will be down. For the quarter, labor and employee benefits were down 0.2%.

"Knight Ridder Digital revenue in the quarter was up 39%, to $29.9 million, with operating profit of $10.7 million (excluding equity losses from partially owned subsidiaries), double what it was in the same quarter last year. Also in the quarter, CareerBuilder maintained its audience lead over both Monster and Hot Jobs, averaging 13.8 million unique visitors in each of the three months, up 112.0% over the same quarter last year. CareerBuilder's Q3 average visitors were 43% greater than visitors to Hot Jobs, and 19% greater than jobs-related visitors to Monster.com.