Nat Worden
Updated from 9:57 a.m. EDT
Heavy cost-cutting at New York Times (NYT Quote - Cramer on NYT - Stock Picks) helped the newspaper publisher beat Wall Street's expectations and buy some time with its frustrated investor base. The Gray Lady reported second-quarter net income of $118.4 million, or 82 cents a share, up from $59.6 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier. Those results included a gain totaling $94.3 million from the sale of its broadcast business, as well as several other one-time items. Excluding those items, New York Times posted earnings of 34 cents a share, beating analysts' average estimate of 31 cents, according to Thomson First Call. Shares of New York Times recently were up 38 cents, or 1.6%, to $23.60. The gain reflects the low expectations that Wall Street has for the company, and the newspaper industry at large, as it faces an epic slump. Consumers and advertisers are flocking to the Internet, where publishers are having trouble getting paid for their content, while major print advertisers like automakers, retailers and real estate-related businesses are struggling in a cyclical downturn. In this environment, New York Times' second-quarter income from continuing operations fell 59% to $221 million. Revenue slipped 3.7% to $788.9 million, missing analysts' forecast of $801.18 million. The company's advertising revenue dropped 5.7%, while its circulation revenue was down 0.5%.
RSS
