Net income was $4.7 million, or 64 cents a share, an 85 percent drop from $31 million, or $4.07 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

The company said the results were influenced by $25 million in costs attributable to early retirement, severance and restructuring. The company also suffered from a $4.6 million foreign currency loss.

Income from continuing operations fell to $6.1 million, compared with $13.4 million in 2012.

The company’s total revenue for the quarter rose slightly to $959 million. But over all, newspaper division revenue declined by 4 percent to $127.3 million. Print advertising at The Washington Post dropped by 8 percent, to $48.6 million, primarily because of decreases in retail and general advertising.

The Washington Post newspaper also suffered from a decline in circulation as the company introduced price increases for its daily home delivery and its newsstand sales. Average daily print circulation declined by 7.2 percent to 457,100 and average Sunday circulation declined 7.7 percent to 659,500.

The figures reported on Friday reflect the steep financial challenges The Washington Post is facing as more readers migrate to digital formats. According to the latest earnings report, The Post started in February to further trim its newsroom staff through incentive programs.

The Post’s digital properties were more promising. Revenue driven mainly by washingtonpost.com and Slate jumped by 8 percent to $25.8 million. While revenue from online classified advertising on washingtonpost.com dropped by 6 percent, online display advertising revenue jumped by 16 percent.

The company’s Kaplan education division also contributed to its losses. Its revenue declined by 3 percent in the quarter, to $527.8 million, as it continued to incur restructuring costs. The company expects more restructuring costs in the coming months.

There were a few bright spots in the earnings report. Revenue from the cable television division grew 5 percent in the first quarter to $200.1 million. Television broadcasting revenue also grew by 5 percent, to $85.3 million, because of growth in advertising.

The company also announced during the first quarter its plans to move out of its downtown Washington headquarters to save money. A real estate broker said the company would probably sell the building to a developer that would raze it and rebuild on the location.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/business/media/washington-post-profits-drop-sharply.html?partner=rss&emc=rss