(RTTNews) - Thursday morning, PRIMEDIA Inc.
(PRM), a print and online publisher and distributor of advertising-supported consumer guides, said earnings for the first quarter 2008 declined despite a marginal increase in revenues.
The company said net income for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008 declined to $13.6 million or $0.31 per share from $104.7 million or $2.38 per share in the prior year period.
Net income decreased $91.1 million year-over-year, primarily due to the $43.5 million gain on the sale of businesses, net of tax and a tax benefit of $61.0 million related to the PEM discontinued operation, both recorded in 2007, partially offset by a reduction of $24.0 million in interest expense from the company’s lower debt level.
Operating income for the quarter declined 5.3% to $8.3 million from $8.7 million in the corresponding period last year. Total net revenue increased 0.8% to $77.5 million from $76.9 million in the prior year period.
Advertising revenue increased to $63.6 million from $63.1 million in the previous year. Distribution revenue increased $13.9 million from $13.8 million in the same period last year.
The company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.07 per share payable on June 2008 to holders of record on May 19.
Looking ahead, the company said its current focus would be to continue to drive quarter-over-quarter revenue growth and improve site engineering and performance for Rentals.com, while driving traffic through search engine optimization.
PRM closed Wednesday’s regular trading session at $6.04.
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