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WASHINGTON (AFX) - Media company Washington Post Co. said Friday its third-quarter profit rose 10 percent on growth in its educational services and television divisions -- which helped offset a slide in newspaper and magazine publishing revenue. The company, publisher of The Washington Post, Newsweek magazine and owner of test prep and online education firm Kaplan Inc., earned $73.3 million, or $7.60 per share, in the July-September quarter, up from $66.6 million, or $6.89 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 8 percent to $946.9 million from $873.7 million a year ago. The latest results reflected a gain of $2.8 million, or 29 cents per share, from the sale of property and marketable securities. The company also recorded a charge of $6.3 million, or 65 cents per share, for goodwill impairment at PostNewsweek Tech Media, which is part of the magazine publishing segment.
Without one-time items, the Post earned $7.96 per share.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for earnings of $8.62 per share, excluding the one-time items.
The Post's Kaplan division, which provides test prep and online education services, continued to be the company's major source of revenue growth, increasing 16 percent in the third quarter to $420.6 million.
Broadcast and cable television also posted revenue growth. Broadcasting grew 11 percent to $82.2 million. Cable was up 16 percent to $142.3 million in part because the division suffered during the 2005 quarter from the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast region.
Newspaper publishing fell 4 percent to $225.6 million on a drop in print advertising revenue at The Washington Post and higher pension expenses. For the quarter, revenue from print advertising fell 11 percent due to declines in classifieds, retail and national advertising.
Following a broad trend for major newspapers, The Post's daily circulation was down during the first nine months of the year. The average daily circulation slipped 2.9 percent to 662,100, while Sunday dropped 3.6 percent to 940,000.
However, the company's online division washingtonpost.com posted a 24 percent revenue increase to $24.5 million in the third quarter. Much of that came from large increases in display online advertising and online classified ad sales.
The magazine division saw revenue drop, falling 3 percent to $78.1 million. The company attributed the decline to subscription rate declines.
For the first nine months of 2006, net income was $228.9 million, or $23.71 per share, up from $211.9 million, or $21.93 per share, in the 2005. Revenue for the first nine months was $2.86 billion, up from $2.60 billion.
Shares of The Washington Post Co. increased $3.70 to $741.50 in midday trading Friday on The New York Stock Exchange. The stock has ranged between $690 and $815 over the past 52 weeks. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
