There has been a great deal of concern that The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) will have trouble paying its long-term debt this year. On top of that, its advertising is falling, even at its Internet unit. Shareholders at the company doesn't have much good news to look forward to.
But, an article in The New York Times says things may not be so bad for its parent company. It is an odd place for the piece to run. It makes it look like the company is trying to convince itself and its shareholders that it will be OK.
In the article, the author points out that "Unlike much of the industry, the Times Company, which publishes The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The International Herald Tribune, does not carry the kind of crushing debt burden that has led other publishers to default or file for bankruptcy, and it has fared better than most of its peers at holding on to revenue from ads and circulation."
Some of the things in that statement are a bit misleading. NYT does have debt. It may not be as bad as it is at a number of its peers, but as its revenue continues to fall, that may not matter much. Its debt service payments will catch up with it.
Another factor that the Times does not own up to is that most of its properties are losing money. Losses at The Boston Globe are estimated at be $1 million a week, and the firm's regional newspaper group is a loser.
The last fact that the analysis dodges is that internet revenue at the NYT was off 12% in December. That figure had been rising for months. Internet revenue was supposed to replace print. That is becoming less likely.
Other than those things, NYT is doing fine.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-09-2009 @ 1:00PM
Sam said...
The writer of this article does not have all his facts right. The regional newspaper Group is not a looser, yes profits are down but they are still profitable, and much leaner, poised to survive the downturn in the business..