Bertelsmann Posts a Profit

German media giant Bertelsmann on Thursday reported a profit in the third quarter in contrast with a loss a year earlier and reaffirmed its forecast for full-year earnings.

The broadcast, music, magazine and book company whose properties include Random House said it earned $15.4 million for the July-September period versus a loss of $457 million a year earlier when it had extensive accounting write-offs. Revenue fell 9.3% to $4.3 billion.

The earnings report came one day after Bertelsmann announced that Chairman Gerd Schulte-Hillen was resigning after a clash with Chief Executive Gunter Thielen over corporate strategy.

In addition to Random House, the world’s largest general-interest publisher, Bertelsmann owns European broadcaster RTL and German magazine group Gruner & Jahr.

This month, Bertelsmann and Sony Corp. announced plans to merge their music businesses, bringing together the world’s No. 2 and No. 5 music companies.