Business News
The New York Times Company Reports March Revenues
Monday 21. April 2008 - The New York Times Company announced today that in March total Company revenues from continuing operations decreased 6.4% compared with the same month a year ago. Advertising revenues decreased 11.1% and circulation revenues increased 1.7%. The About Group again posted strong advertising growth in the month, up 22.4%.
As expected, the Company’s results for March were adversely affected by the timing of Easter. Easter Sunday, which fell in March this year, but was in April last year, is traditionally a time of reduced advertising at both The New York Times and The Boston Globe.
All comparisons are for March 2008 to March 2007 unless otherwise noted:
News Media Group: Advertising revenues for the News Media Group decreased 12.5% mainly because of weaker classified advertising.
The New York Times Media Group – Advertising revenues for The New York Times Media Group decreased 6.0%. National advertising revenues decreased as weakness in the transportation, telecommunications, healthcare, packaged goods, studio entertainment and national automotive categories offset triple- digit growth in financial services advertising. Retail advertising revenues decreased mainly due to softness in home furnishings, cosmetic manufacturers and department store advertising. Classified advertising revenues decreased because of weakness in real estate, help-wanted and automotive advertising. Real estate advertising was adversely affected by a shift in the timing of KEY Magazine, which was published in April this year but appeared in March last year.
New England Media Group – Advertising revenues for the New England Media Group decreased 25.9% in March 2008 compared with growth of 2.2% in March 2007. National advertising revenues were lower mainly because of decreases in the travel, banking, telecommunications, financial services and national automotive categories. Retail advertising revenues decreased primarily due to weakness in home improvement, home furnishings, jewelry/watches, sports/toys and food/drug advertising. Classified advertising revenues decreased because of continued softness in real estate, help-wanted and automotive advertising.
Regional Media Group – Advertising revenues for the Regional Media Group decreased 19.4%. Retail advertising revenues were down mainly because of decreases in the home furnishings, banking/financial services, medical/dental and telecommunications categories. Classified advertising revenues decreased due to continued weakness in real estate, help-wanted and automotive advertising.
Internet advertising revenues included in the News Media Group rose 14.8% due to growth in display advertising.
Circulation revenues for the News Media Group increased 1.7%. Revenues increased at The New York Times and the Regional Media Groups, and decreased at the New England Media Group.
About Group – Advertising revenues at the About Group (which includes the Web sites of About.com, ConsumerSearch.com, UCompareHealthCare.com and Calorie-Count.com) rose 22.4% due to growth in cost-per-click advertising. In addition, advertising revenues reflect the acquisition of ConsumerSearch.com in May 2007. Excluding acquisitions, advertising revenues increased approximately 15%.
In addition, The New York Times Company had the 11th largest presence on the Web, with 50.4 million unique visitors in the United States in March 2008 according to Nielsen Online, up approximately 16% from 43.5 million unique visitors in March 2007. Also according to Nielsen Online, NYTimes.com had 18.9 million unique visitors in March versus 14.5 million in March 2007, up about 30%, and was the No. 1 newspaper Web site in the United States, a position it has long held.