WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Post Co. said Friday that earnings fell 85 percent in the first three months of the year, mainly because of the cost of shutting down some college campuses run by its Kaplan education division and for an early retirement program at its flagship newspaper.
The company’s first-quarter net income was $4.7 million, or 64 cents per share. That compares with earnings of $31 million, or $4.07 per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Profits from cable and broadcast TV offset losses in education and in publishing.
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Excluding one-time items such as restructuring costs at Kaplan and the newspaper and losses from sold-off operations, the company said it would have earned $25.2 million, or $3.46 per share, compared with $9.3 million, or $1.18 per share, a year earlier.
Revenue was up slightly at $959 billion, from $956 billion a year ago.
The company’s stock fell $2.80, or less than 1 percent, to $449.71 in afternoon trading Friday, after the release of the results.
Like other newspapers, The Washington Post has seen a decline in print advertising. For a while, the success of Kaplan’s schools and test preparation services helped bolster the company’s results.
But tougher federal regulations in recent years forced Kaplan to change its admissions standards. Kaplan is now required to ensure that students don’t take on a lot of debt to attend the for-profit school unless there is a realistic chance they can graduate. The company has made it tougher for students to be admitted into its schools and revised its recruitment programs.
Kaplan’s enrollment was 67,196 students at the end of March, a decline of 12 percent from the previous year. First-quarter revenue in the education division fell 3 percent to $528 million. The company is shutting down some campuses to reduce expenses.
Revenue at the company’s newspaper publishing division fell 4 percent to $127 million, propelled by an 8 percent, or $4.1 million, decline in print advertising revenue. Revenue from online publishing activities grew 8 percent, or $1.9 million, but the amount wasn’t enough to offset what was lost in print. To cut costs, the Post announced a voluntary early retirement program in February.
Cable-TV revenue rose 5 percent to $200 million. Revenue from broadcast-TV stations also went up 5 percent, to $85.3 million.
