The New York Times Company Updates its Outlook

The New York Times Company NYT today will discuss its business and strategy at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. “The improvement in print advertising trends that we began to see in late January continued into February, and we finished the month with print advertising revenues down in the low-single digits,” said Janet L. Robinson, president and chief executive officer. “Similar to January, digital advertising revenues in February were up in the mid-single digits, as solid growth at the News Media Group was partially offset by softness at the About Group. “We continue to expect circulation revenues in the first quarter to decrease in line with the declines we experienced in the second half of 2010. While we continue to aggressively manage our costs, we expect operating expenses in the first quarter to increase 1 to 2 percent mainly due to higher newsprint prices, pension expense and promotion costs. “The pay model for NYTimes.com is in the final testing phase, and we expect it will launch shortly.”