Profit was up 10 percent in the third quarter for The Washington Post Co., with both washingtonpost.com and Slate showing improved results. Net income was $73.3 million, or $7.60 per share, compared with $66.6 million, or $6.89 per share in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 8 percent to $946.9 million,. Revenue from online publishing, which is mostly from the flagship washingtonpost.com, rose 24 percent to $24.5 milllion and increased 31 percent to $72.7 million for the first nine months. Online display advertising revenue grew 43 percent and 52 percent for the third quarter and first nine months of 2006, respectively, while washingtonpost.com classified revenue increased 14 percent and 21 percent for the third quarter and first nine months. A small portion of the Washington Post’s online revenue is included in magazine publishing; the company owns Newsweek.
-- Newspaper publishing revenue fell 4 percent to $225.6 million, while operating income tumbled 38 percent to $17.7 million.
-- Magazine publishing revenue fell 3 percent to $76.1 million, while operating profit dropped to $138,000 because of a one-time charge.
-- Cable revenue rose 16 percent to $142.3 million as operating profit jumped to $27.9 million.
As its usual practice, the company doesn’t have an earnings call.
Earnings Release
Staci adds: A look at the 3Q numbers reminds of discussions with Washington Post chairman Donald Graham about the contribution of online. To put it in perspective, online accounted for roughly 2.5 percent of the company’s revenues for the quarter and roughly the same for the first nine months.