New York Times swings to loss as ad revenue slips

The New York Times Co. on Thursday reported a $14.3 million loss in the first quarter, hit by a drop in advertising revenues and one-time pension settlement costs.

The publisher of the prestigious US daily said advertising revenues fell almost six percent, as gains in digital ads failed to offset a steep decline in print ad revenues.

Overall revenues fell 1.6 percent from a year ago to $384 million, despite a modest uptick in circulation income, mainly from digital subscriptions.

The results show slow progress in the effort by the news organization to maintain its financial footing as it seeks to transition to online news.

Circulation revenue from digital-only subscription products rose 14.4 percent from a year ago, and digital advertising grew 10.7 percent. But print advertising, which makes up a large share of Times' revenue, fell 11.1 percent.

"We got off to a solid start in early 2015, as our company maintained its digital momentum," said Mark Thompson , president and chief executive officer.

"We increased our digital subscriber count by 47,000 in the first quarter, more than in any quarter over the past two years, bringing us to a total of 957,000 paid digital subscribers. The strong digital consumer growth in the first quarter was largely attributable to improved retention and higher traffic to the website, partially as a result of our recent audience development efforts."

One-time costs was a factor in the loss, which compared with a profit of $1.7 million in the same period a year ago.

The company paid $40.3 million "in connection with a lump-sum payment offer to certain former employees," the Times said in a statement, without offering details.