KR ad profits up

Snippits from the business wires:

Improved ad sales help Knight Ridder profit
Newspaper publisher Knight Ridder Inc. said on Wednesday quarterly profit edged up amid a fledging recovery in advertising sales for U.S. newspapers. The company expects the pace of ad revenue growth to pick up next year. The San Jose, California-based publisher, whose newspapers include the Akron Beacon Journal, Miami Herald and the San Jose Mercury News, said fourth-quarter profit totaled $99 million, or $1.22 per share, up from $96.6 million, or $1.16 per share, a year earlier

From PR News Wire:
SAN JOSE, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Knight Ridder ( KRI) earned $1.38 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2004, up 13.1% from the $1.22 earned in the same period the previous year. For the year, Knight Ridder earned $4.13 per diluted share, up 13.8% from $3.63 in 2004. Included in 2004 earnings per share is $.09 for the quarter and $.26 for the year from the resolution of certain prior-year tax matters, including interest -- as compared to $.07 for the quarter and $.12 for the year in 2003.

And Reuters reported, in part:
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gannett Co. Inc. reported higher quarterly profit on Wednesday despite advertising declines at its flagship USA Today newspaper, while rival Knight Ridder Inc., said earnings increased as help-wanted advertising jumped. The results from the two largest U.S. newspaper chains come as publishers try to post a sustained recovery in advertising sales after a multiyear slump. Gannett's chief executive said he is optimistic about the 2005 ad outlook although he said many big advertisers still remain cautious. Gannett and Knight Ridder shares both were lower in late morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Other newspaper stocks also declined modestly.