Washington Post Swings to a Profit

Shares of the Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO) are up in early trading after the company reported that it swung to a profit on strong revenue growth from its TV divisions, though sales in its newspaper businesses continued to decline.

The diversified media and education company posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $12.64 on revenues of $1.01 billion for the third quarter. In the same period a year ago, the company reported a net loss of $0.82 on revenues of $1.01 billion. The quarter's results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $1.31 and $993.3 million in revenues.

Third-quarter revenue from the education division declined 8% year-over-year to $552.6 million. Newspaper publishing division revenue came to $137.3 million, down 4%. But cable television division revenue grew 6% to $199.6 million and revenue for the television broadcasting division rose 44% to $106.4 million.

The company offered no guidance for the full year. The Thomson Reuters consensus estimates call for EPS of $17.35 and $3.99 billion in revenues. That would be down from $24.02 per share and $4.21 billion in the previous year.

Washington Post shares are up about 5.5% to $18.53 in morning trading. The 52-week range is $323.29 to $405.00. Shares of competitor New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) are down about 1% to $8.71, and Gannet Co. (NYSE: GCI) shares are also about 1% lower to $17.10.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Earnings, Old Media Tagged: featured, GCI, NYT, WPO