The New York Times reported a decline in second-quarter operating profits although its net profit was boosted by the sale of its golf magazines.
But the company sounded a positive tone for the second half of the year, saying its cost cutting program, which included job cuts of 8 to 9 per cent, and a possible rebound in advertising, would yield full-year earnings in the upper range of Wall Street expectations.
The company, which owns The New York Timesand the Boston Globenewspapers reported a profit of $70.5 million.
Revenues fell 10 per cent to $790.3 million from $843.5 million a year ago, excluding the results of its regional newspapers and telephone directories business, which were sold in last year's fourth quarter. Including the regional papers, revenues declined 11 per cent.
Including a $241.3 million gain from the sale of its golf magazines division to Advance Publications and a $79.1 million charge related to the slashing of its workforce, the company reported a net profit of $265.5 million, or $1.64 a share.
Several of the New York Times' rivals, namely Dow Jones, Knight Ridder, Gannett and E.W. Scripps, reported weaker results, citing an advertising slump due to the general decline in the economy and the absence of dot-com advertising that bolstered revenues a year ago.