The New York Times says core earnings in the past quarter have lifted by gains in online subscriptions, helping offset declines in print and digital ad revenue.
Results reported yesterday showed a fourth quarter profit of US$65.6 million ($79.6 million), compared with US$178 million in the same period a year earlier, which was largely from a one-time gain from spinning off its stake in an online jobs website.
Total fourth-quarter revenue fell 5.2 per cent to US$443.9 million, with circulation revenue down 3.9 per cent and advertising revenue falling 6.3 per cent.
The company said paid subscribers to digital-only subscription packages rose 19 per cent from a year earlier to 760,000 as of the end of the fourth quarter and brought in US$39.1 million in the final three months of the year. That helped offset quarterly drops in print and digital advertising revenue, down 6.3 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively.
The results suggest some progress for the prestigious US daily newspaper as it seeks to get rid of its non-core assets and get more money from readers, especially in digital.
