TheStreet.com Reports Higher Earnings

Updated from 7:30 a.m. EDT

While the advertising market continues to dry up for traditional media outlets, the 77% gain in third-quarter ad revenue reported Thursday by TheStreet.com (TSCM), the publisher of this Web site, suggests that the Internet is a much different story.

In what is traditionally a seasonally slow quarter, TheStreet.com recorded ad revenue of $3.7 million, its largest quarterly total in six years. The increase helped power the online financial-news provider to a 93% jump in third-quarter profits.

TheStreet.com said it earned $3.1 million, or 11 cents a share, for the quarter, up from $1.6 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier. The earnings per share matched the average estimate of two analysts polled by Thomson First Call.

TheStreet.com's third-quarter revenue rose 58% to $12.9 million from $8.2 million in the year-ago period. In addition to the 77% gain in advertising revenue, revenue from subscriptions to premium services rose 49%, and other revenue increased 108%.

Revenue from nonfinancial advertisers jumped 145% in the quarter. That segment made up 30% of its total ad revenue mix, compared to 22% in last year's third-quarter and 19% in the second quarter of this year.

During the quarter, TheStreet.com acquired Weiss Ratings for $4.7 million in a bid to broaden its online content and widen its audience. The company said the transaction is expected to be break even or slightly accretive to its full-year net income.