Time Inc. Results Drop 8% During 1st Quarter

Time Inc. said Tuesday that its profit slipped 8% in the first quarter despite a strong performance by its magazine group.

The New York-based publisher said its operating profit would have risen 33% if normal seasonal losses from a newly acquired textbook concern and $14 million in one-time gains a year ago were excluded from the comparison.

Time reported net income of $46 million in the first three months of the year, compared to $50 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 7.4% to $939 million from $874 million.

Time said profits from its magazine group rose 64% to $59 million because of lower development expenses and the effect of a cost reduction program.

Among Time’s magazines are Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, Money, Fortune, People, Discover, McCall’s and Southern Living.

The books and information service group posted an operating loss of $3 million, compared to a profit of $14 million last year.

Operating profit was up 6% at American Television & Communications Corp., the cable company in which Time holds an 82% stake.

Home Box Office Inc., which offers HBO and Cinemax pay-television services, had an operating profit of $36 million, down 9%.