The New York Times Co. Reports $709 Million in Digital Revenue for 2018

Digital news organizations have also struggled lately. Last month BuzzFeed laid off 15 percent of its work force, roughly 220 employees; Verizon Media Group announced a 7 percent cut in its media divisions, which equals about 800 positions; and a 10 percent cut is underway at Vice Media.

At The Times, the total revenue in the fourth quarter was $503 million, a nearly 4 percent increase from a year earlier. Operating profit decreased by 17.5 percent, to $75 million. (The drop was thanks partly to the extra week in the fourth quarter of 2017.)

The company also announced on Wednesday that it would increase the dividend it pays shareholders by 25 percent. Investors who own Times Company stock will receive 5 cents per share every quarter, costing the company about $33 million a year. That will also benefit the Ochs-Sulzberger family that controls The Times. As of last February, the family reported it owned about 9 percent of the equity in the company.

In the earnings conference call on Wednesday, Mr. Thompson said the company had plans to test a price increase for digital subscribers in the early part of the year. This would be the first price increase in seven and a half years, Meredith Kopit Levien, the company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said.

“We’re confident that our digital subscribers will also understand why the price paid for high-quality journalism sometimes has to increase if the journalism itself is to flourish,” Mr. Thompson said.

Noting that 16 percent of Times subscribers live outside the United States, Ms. Levien said she sees room for international growth. “We believe there is a very big opportunity for The New York Times to be one of the handful of dominant global news producers,” she said.

The company’s cash position continues to grow, and it now has $826 million on hand. In addition to the increase in the dividend and added investments in the newsroom, the company said it would exercise its option to buy back The New York Times Building before the end of this year at a cost of $250 million.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/business/media/new-york-times-earnings-digital-subscriptions.html?partner=rss&emc=rss