The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today first-quarter 2018 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $.13 compared with $.08 earnings per share in the same period of 2017. Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations (defined below) was $.17 in the first quarter of 2018 compared with $.10 in the first quarter of 2017.
Operating profit rose to $34.1 million in the first quarter of 2018 from $27.8 million in the same period of 2017, principally driven by strong digital subscription revenues, which were partially offset by higher operating costs and lower print advertising revenues. Adjusted operating profit (defined below) increased to $55.5 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared with $50.2 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Mark Thompson, president and chief executive officer, The New York Times Company, said, “In the first quarter, we saw increases in revenue and overall profitability and continued solid growth in our digital subscription business. The strong demand for the high quality, independent journalism that The Times produces resulted in a 139,000 net increase in digital-only subscriptions for the quarter. We’re seeing good retention of new cohorts of subscribers and continue to believe there is a big opportunity to further grow this increasingly important part of our business. Subscription revenues accounted for nearly two-thirds of the Company’s revenues and, as we continue to adapt our subscription model and introduce new products, we expect that trend to continue.
“Turning to advertising, Q1 saw a good performance in print, the best since the third quarter of 2015, with just a 2 percent decline year-over-year. However, as predicted, we had a subdued start to year in digital advertising, with a 6 percent decline in the quarter, driven in part by the lumpiness of our growing strategic partnership business, and the fact that audiences in the quarter, while strong, did not quite reach the peaks of the immediate post-election and inauguration period a year earlier. We expect another down quarter in digital advertising in Q2, but are confident that we will return to solid year-over-year growth in the third quarter.”
Revenues
Total revenues for the first quarter of 2018 increased 3.8 percent to $413.9 million from $398.8 million in the first quarter of 2017. Subscription revenues increased 7.5 percent, while advertising revenues decreased 3.4 percent and other revenues increased 5.0 percent.
Subscription revenues in the first quarter of 2018 rose primarily due to growth in recent quarters in the number of subscriptions to the Company’s digital-only products. Revenue from the Company’s digital-only subscription products (which include our news product, as well as our Crossword and Cooking products) increased 25.8 percent compared with the first quarter of 2017, to $95.4 million.
Operating Costs
Operating costs increased in the first quarter of 2018 to $378.0 million compared with $368.6 million in the first quarter of 2017, largely due to higher compensation costs, which was partially offset by lower print production and distribution costs. Adjusted operating costs increased to $358.5 million from $348.6 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Raw materials costs were $16.7 million in the first quarter of 2018, flat to the same period in the prior year, as volume declines were mostly offset by higher prices.
more detail at: http://investors.nytco.com/press/press-releases/press-release-details/2018/The-New-York-Times-Company-Reports-2018-First-Quarter-Results/default.aspx