Time Inc. Income Soars; Sale of Holding, Stock Offering Cited

Time Inc. had more than a fivefold increase in third-quarter net income over last year, the New York-based publishing concern said Wednesday.

The sharp increase in Time’s profit reflected pretax gains of $352 million from the sale of holdings in Temple-Inland Inc. and the initial public offering of 20% of the common stock of its cable-television company, American Television & Communications Corp.

Those gains were partly offset by a $50-million charge taken to cover the costs of relocating Time’s Chicago-based subscription operations.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, Time reported earnings of $252 million, up from $44 million in the same three months of 1985. Quarterly revenue came to $914 million, a 7.9% improvement from $847 million made in 1985.

Earnings at the company’s magazine group declined during the quarter and revenue was flat, largely due to sluggish advertising revenue and higher expenses for developing products. The company’s three weekly magazines each published one less issue in the 1986 third quarter, which also cut revenue.