Work in progress. Dow Jones (DJ) turned in a good report for 2Q06, earning 34 cents per diluted share compared to 1 cent per diluted share in the same quarter last year. Excluding special items, DJ’s earnings of 39 cents per share were 14.7 percent up over 34 cents per diluted share in 2Q05. Revenue rose 5.9 percent to $481.2 million, while operating income was up 33.1 percent to $51.8 million thanks to operating improvements and restructuring charges—up 16.5 percent excluding c harges and other items. Via DJ’s MKTW, the average Thompson First Call estimate was 35 cents on revenue of $489.4 million.
Consumer Media: Led by a 10-percent increase and a 5.9 percent gain in circulation and other revenue, the segment rose 8.9 percent to $291.2 million. Operating income was up 47 percent to $19.6 million while DJ Online revenue increased nearly 23 percent.
WSJ/Barron’s Subscription Update: DJ closed the second quarter with 833,000 total paid subscriptions to WSJ.com and Barron’s Online, up 12 percent from 744,000 in 2Q05.Barron’s has accumulated 68,000 subscribers since separating from WSJ.com in January; an increase of 15 percent from 59,000 in 1Q06.. This other number is a little murkier because the 2005 stats included Barron’s but WSJ subscriptions hit 765,000 in 2Q05, up from 744,000 last year.
- Paid subscriptions to the Online Journal grew to 765,000 from last year’s 744,000, for an increase of 2.8%. (Please note--last year’s figure includes subscriptions to Barron’s Online, which were separated from WSJ.com in January 2006.)
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