The New York Times Company (NYT) updated its guidance for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2009. Management expects the print advertising market to remain challenging. The company states that although trends have improved modestly over the quarter, it currently forecasts print advertising revenues to decrease approximately 25% during the fourth quarter.
Furthermore, there has been strong growth in digital advertising, and management expects the total online advertising revenues to increase approximately 10% in the fourth quarter. In addition, the company’s website NYTimes.com also posted growth in terms of online brand advertising. Similarly, About.com has also experienced growth in both cost-per-click and display advertising.
Based on the growth in the circulation revenues, management now expects company earnings to increase approximately 2% in the fourth quarter.
The company has many ongoing restructuring initiatives in place, and is on track to achieve approximately $475 million in savings in fiscal 2009. Additionally, the company has also made significant progress in reducing its debt level, with total debt expected to be approximately $800 million at the end of the year, down from $1.1 billion at the end of 2008.
The company also updated guidance for fiscal 2009. Capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $50 million to $55 million. Interest expenses are expected at $85 million, while Severance costs are expected at $50 million.
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