Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, today announced preliminary earnings for 2001 which revealed net income of $2.1 million, or three cents a share, compared with a net loss of $274.3 million, or $3.15 a share, for 2000. Net income for the fourth quarter was £1.5m, compared with a net loss of £192.9m in the fourth quarter of 2000.
Figures for the last quarter of 2001 include charges of $27.2 million for relocation costs following the attacks of 11 Sept and also costs of job cuts and consolidating certain international operations. After exceptionals, the company said it earned $29.3 million, or 34 cents a share, in the latest period, compared with $73.4 million, or 83 cents a share, for the comparable period last year. Revenue fell 23% to $431.5 million from $558.4 million.
Revenue at the company’s print publishing division fell by 30% in Q4 2001 to $266.2 million. Full year revenue for the division fell 27% to $1.1 billion, reflecting difficult market conditions globally. Advertising volume at The Wall Street Journal fell 33% on a per-issue basis in December and declined by 42% in Q4. The company expects advertising at The Wall Street Journal to be down 20% to 30% in Q1 2002. Operating income in Q4 2001 declined by 70% on the previous year.
“[2001] was a difficult year for our nation, the economy as a whole, and the financial markets, and particularly for advertising. Consequently, it was a very difficult year for Dow Jones,” said Peter Kann, Dow Jones chairman and chief executive. “We’ve taken aggressive steps not only to profitably weather this storm, but, at the same time to make our company even stronger journalistically, strategically, operationally and financially.”
