Read the full New York Times third-quarter report here.
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“Let me make it clear that we oppose ad blocking”, New York Times chief executive Mark Thompson said on an earnings call Thursday.
In the third-quarter, The Times registered net income of $9.4 million, or 6 cents a diluted share, versus a year-ago loss of $12.5 million, or 8 cents a share. Adjusted quarterly earnings came in at 9 cents a share that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 6 cents, and increased threefold from the year-ago quarter. Revenue edged up 0.7 per cent to $US367.4 million.
Circulation revenue rose 1.1% to $209.1 million, as the company’s digital-subscription push and an increase in home-delivery prices again offset a decline in print copies sold.
The company said this month it aimed to double its annual digital revenue to US$800 million by 2020 with a concentrated effort to win over more readers on smartphones. Adjusted operating costs decreased 1.5 percent in the third quarter to $319.8 million from $324.7 million.
Chief Revenue Officer Meredith Kopit Levien said ad blocking is a “situation we’re monitoring very closely” and said the Times is at the industry average when it comes to the rate of adoption of ad blockers.
The Times, which is aiming to boost its digital audience as print readership declines, said it added 51,000 net online subscriptions in the quarter, but its ad revenues – both from digital and print – declined.
Third-quarter print advertising revenue fell 0.9 percent while digital advertising revenue dropped five percent. Digital ad sales were down 5% to $36.5 million. The Times now has more than 1 million online-only subscribers. Analysts had projected $364.7 million. The company incurred capital expenditures of about $9 million during the quarter.
As of September 27, 2015, the Company had cash and marketable securities of $872.7 million (excluding restricted cash of $29.0 million primarily to collateralize certain workers’ compensation obligations).
Advertising, which remains a significant source of revenue, is largely dependent on the global financial health.
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Operating costs are expected to decrease in the low to mid-single digits in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared with the fourth quarter of 2014, while adjusted operating costs are expected to decline in the low-single digits.
