Earnings down, but July date on track

Newspaper earnings down
Newspaper publishers McClatchy Co., Tribune Co. and New York Times Co. reported lower first-quarter results Thursday as sluggish advertising, higher newsprint prices and other costs took their toll, it was reported in the Los Angeles Times..

Results for Sacramento-based McClatchy Co. came in well below analysts' expectations.

Shares fell as low as $45.38 before closing down $1 at $47, the lowest closing price since 2002.

The shares had already been under pressure after the company's March 13 announcement that it would buy the much larger publisher Knight Ridder Inc.

McClatchy earned $27.7 million, or 59 cents a share, down 14% from $32.3 million, or 69 cents, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected 67 cents a share.

McClatchy's revenue edged up 0.4% to $282 million, with advertising revenue up 1.4% and circulation revenue down 4.5%.

Tribune Co.'s profit fell 28% on lower revenue, stock compensation costs and one-time charges. The results beat analysts' expectations but still reflected the difficulties facing newspapers, with revenue in that division down 1% and circulation down 3%. Tribune's newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Newsday and the Chicago Tribune. Net income fell to $100.7 million, or 33 cents a share, from $140.8 million, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier.

Shares of Chicago-based Tribune rose 18 cents to $28.20. The stock has fallen more than 28% over the last year.

New York Times Co. came in a penny ahead of analysts' expectations. But there too advertising was uneven, with the company's New England business group, anchored by the Boston Globe, facing headwinds from a weaker economy there and consolidation of several major advertisers.

New York Times Co. shares dropped 17 cents to $25.05. The New York-based company earned $35 million, or 24 cents a share, down from $111 million, or 76 cents, a year earlier, when it recorded a big gain from the sale of the New York Times headquarters building. Without that gain, earnings were 30 cents a share.

Analysts project Knight Ridder, which reports next Monday, to post earnings of 59 cents per share.

McClatchy on track for July
Meanwhile marketwatch.com reported McClatchy Co. is "on track" for closing its acquisition of Knight Ridder Inc. (KRI) by July 1, Chief Executive Gary Pruitt said on a conference call Thursday.

As part of the acquisition, McClatchy is "moving quickly" on the sale of the 12 Knight Ridder newspapers that McClatchy didn't want to keep, Pruitt said. Without mentioning specifics, he said he is "gratified" by the bidding interest in the papers.