Eat The Press

Low Q3 Earnings Predicted For New York Times

Reuters |  NYT |  Posted Thursday September 21, 2006 at 08:16 PM

The New York Times Co. released a sharply lower third-quarter earnings today, claiming a "challenging" print advertising market — which sent shares slamming down nearly 5 percent in after-hours trading.

Per Reuters: "The publisher of The New York Times newspaper and the Boston Globe forecast earnings of 8 cents to 10 cents per share, compared with 16 cents in the same quarter last year."

Misery, at least, loves company: Dow Jones & Co. also released a lowered third-quarter forecast because of low revenue at the WSJ, and Yahoo has also admitted to lower advertising revenues than expected.

Last week, top brassman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Vice Chairman Michael Golden pledged $2 million of their own stock-based pay for a staff bonus pool in order to boost morale, if not the bottom line. According to Reuters, New York Times shares fell over a dollar, from $22.83 at the close of the NY Stock Exchange to $21.73 in after-hours trading.