New York Times sees digital gains, but profit evaporates

The New York Times Co saw profits evaporate in the third quarter due to one-time costs and a steep drop in print advertising revenues, results showed Wednesday. The prestigious US daily publisher reported a profit of $406,000 - down 96 percent from the $9.4 million profit in the same period a year ago.
Overall revenues fell one percent in the quarter to $363.5 million.
The company, struggling to transition to digital, said online ad revenues grew 21.5 percent and now account for more than 35 percent of its advertising receipts.
But that increase failed to offset an 18.5 percent drop in print ad revenues - a situation faced by most traditional newspaper publishers.
The Times added 129,000 paid digital-only subscribers in the quarter, helping lift revenue for that segment by around three percent.
"This quarter proved yet again that the New York Times has a very compelling digital revenue story to tell," said Mark Thompson, president and chief executive officer, in a statement.