P.M. BRIEFING : Reader’s Digest Profit Up 15%

Reader’s Digest Assn. Inc. said today its fourth-quarter earnings nearly doubled from a year ago and its full year profit rose 15.8% as its revenue surpassed $2 billion for the first time.

The company’s profit for the year reached a record despite a wider operating loss in its special interest magazine business.

The publishing and direct marketing company, based in Pleasantville, N.Y., earned $20 million, or 16 cents a share, in the three months ended June 30 compared with $10.4 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 14% to $479.9 million in the quarter from $419.5 million a year earlier.

The company only began reporting its financial results last December in advance of the first public offering of non-voting stock. The offering occurred in February, and the stock was trading at $24.75 a share at midday today on the New York Stock Exchange, down 75 cents from Wednesday.