New York Times Tops Profit Estimates As Digital Ad Revenue Grows

New York Times Co. said Thursday it had a loss of $14.3 million, or 9 cents a share, in the first quarter, after a profit of $1.74 million, or 2 cents a share, in the year-earlier period, weighed down by special pension charges. Excluding those, the company had adjusted per-share earnings of 11 cents, topping the FactSet consensus of 8 cents. Revenue edged down 1.6% to $384 million, matching the FactSet consensus. Chief Executive Mark Thompson said digital ad revenue continued to expand at a double-digit pace, as the company added 47,000 digital subscribers. "The strong digital consumer growth in the first quarter was largely attributable to improved retention and higher traffic to the website, partially as a result of our recent audience development efforts," he said in a statement. The company is expecting total ad revenue to fall in the mid-single digits in the second quarter, while total circulation revenue is expected to increase at a rate similar to last year. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade but are down 3% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.3%.