Times Mirror Says Per-Share Earnings More Than Doubled
Times Mirror Co., parent of the Los Angeles Times, said Tuesday that third-quarter earnings per share more than doubled compared with the year-ago quarter--excluding restructuring costs--thanks to cost cutting and a strong showing by the company’s newspapers.
“Led by the outstanding performance of our newspaper publishing segment, we exceeded our financial objectives for the 1996 third quarter,” said Mark H. Willes, Times Mirror chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Times Mirror posted third-quarter net income of $55.7 million, or 43 cents per share. That compares with $37.1 million, or 21 cents per share, from continuing operations in the 1995 third quarter, excluding the impact of the Los Angeles-based company’s 1995 restructuring program charges and other special items. When those costs and discontinued operations are included, Times Mirror recorded a net loss for the 1995 third quarter of $298.9 million, or $2.98 per share.
Third-quarter revenues were $885.6 million, compared with $864.8 million in the same quarter last year.
The company’s financial performance for the quarter exceeded Wall Street’s earnings projections; analysts said that Times Mirror has run through most of the benefits of its cost-cutting campaign and must look for ways to boost revenue. On the New York Stock Exchange, Times Mirror stock closed at $44.875 on Tuesday, down 25 cents.
“Revenue growth is always tougher” than cost cutting, said Mary Ann Winter, an analyst with Brown Bros. Harriman in New York. During a conference call Tuesday with analysts and company executives, “I got the impression that they are going to emphasize revenue growth throughout the company.”
In a statement, Willes cautioned that improvement in the fourth quarter “will continue to moderate because this year’s fourth quarter has five fewer days than 1995’s and a significant portion of last year’s cost-reduction program was in place in the fourth quarter of 1995.”
In addition to The Times, Times Mirror publishes Newsday, the Baltimore Sun, the Hartford Courant and other papers. It also publishes national and trade magazines as well as professional information for the legal, health sciences, aviation and training industries.
