Business News
The New York Times Company Updates Third-Quarter 2010 Outlook
Monday 27. September 2010 - The New York Times Company today will discuss its business, strategy and management's outlook during the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XIX Conference.
The following are certain anticipated results for the third quarter of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009:
Total revenues to decrease approximately 2 to 3 percent;
Print advertising revenues to decrease approximately 5 percent;
Digital advertising revenues to increase approximately 14 percent;
Circulation revenues to decrease approximately 5 percent; and
Operating costs to increase approximately 1 to 2 percent.
Accordingly, the Company expects to report a third-quarter diluted loss per share from continuing operations in the range of $.05 to $.07 per share. Excluding severance costs and the two charges listed below, diluted earnings per share are expected to be approximately $.03 to $.05 per share. The third-quarter results will include the following special items:
A $16 million ($10 million after tax or $.07 per share) charge for a write-down of assets at The Boston Globe’s printing facility in Billerica, Mass.; and
A $6 million ($4 million after tax or $.03 per share) charge for an adjustment to estimated pension withdrawal obligations under several multi-employer pension plans at The Boston Globe.
The Company expects third-quarter severance costs to be approximately $1 million.
The Company remains diligent in managing its operating expenses, and expects fourth-quarter operating costs and operating costs excluding severance and depreciation and amortization, to be comparable to the same period last year, despite significantly higher newsprint prices. It continues to closely monitor its capital expenditures and expects to be on track to spend approximately $45 to $55 million in 2010.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include national and local conditions, as well as competition, that could influence the levels (rate and volume) of retail, national and classified advertising and circulation generated by our various markets, material increases in newsprint prices and the development of our digital businesses. They also include other risksdetailed from time to time in the Company’s publicly filed documents, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 27, 2009. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
In this release, the Company has included non-GAAP financial information with respect to diluted earnings per share from continuing operations excluding severance and special items and operating costs excluding depreciation, amortization and severance. The Company has included these non-GAAP financial measures because management reviews them on a regular basis and uses them to evaluate and manage the performance of the operations. Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors as a supplement to reported diluted earnings per share from continuing operations and operating costs. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations excluding severance and special items provide useful information in evaluating the Company’s period-to-period performance because it eliminates items that the Company does not consider to be indicative of earnings from ongoing operating activities. Total operating costs excluding depreciation, amortization and severance provide investors with helpful supplemental information on the Company’s underlying operating costs that is used by management in its financial and operational decision-making. However, these measures should be evaluated only in conjunction with the comparable GAAP financial measures and should not be viewed as alternative or superior measures of GAAP results.