Washington Post 4Q earnings down 77 per cent

The Washington Post Co. earnings fell 77 percent in the fourth quarter of last year compared with the same period in 2007, as a large impairment charge drove down net income.

The Post Co. reported fourth-quarter net income of $18.8 million ($2.01 per share) on revenue of $1.16 billion, compared with net income of $82.9 million ($8.71) on revenue of $1.13 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The company's newspaper division, which includes the flagship Washington Post, reported a $14.4 million operating loss for the fourth quarter and a $192.7 million operating loss for all of 2008, nearly half of which came from the cost of early-retirement packages taken by some 231 Post employees. The charge dragged The Post Co. into the red in the second quarter of 2008, for the first time in its 37-year history as a publicly traded company.

The company's magazine division -- largely Newsweek -- reported a $10.9 million operating profit for the fourth quarter but a $16.1 million operating loss for 2008.

Click on the headline to read the full story in the Washington Post.

BUT FIRST: Here are the bad and some good numbers from :MediaMemo blog by Peter Kafka

▼ Newspaper division revenue was down 13 percent; the previous quarter it declined a mere seven percent.

▼ Print advertising declined 21 percent; that’s worse than the 14 percent decline the previous quarter.

▼ Revenues at the company’s magazine group were down 18 percent; in Q3 they were down a mere four percent. Newsweek’s revenue dropped 22 percent, and that decline will continue as the company pares back its circulation base.

▲The good news: Online revenue was up five percent, and display ads were up 10 percent. Both of those numbers represent decelerations from Q3, when overall online revenue was up 13 percent and display was up 32 percent.