Torstar Corp. says profits were $26.7 million in the fourth quarter, declining from a year earlier when it recognized earnings from its stake in CTVglobemedia.
Net income for the owner of the Toronto Star and other newspapers, Harlequin books and numerous websites was equivalent to 33 cents per share for the three month period.
That was down from $57.4 million or 73 cents per share a year earlier.
Excluding the year-ago results from CTVglobemedia, quarterly profits were down $400,000 from a year ago.
Revenue increased to $416.1 million from $394.8 million.
“The media operations were responsible for the earnings growth, benefiting from modest revenue recovery and ongoing efforts to control costs,” said president and CEO David Holland in a release.
“In the quarter, EBITDA was up versus prior year as the increase in earnings from the media operations more than offset the anticipated decline in quarterly earnings at Harlequin. For the full year, EBITDA was up substantially to $233.6 million from $191.8 million.”
Torstar owns operations that include the Star Media Group led by the Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper and digital properties including Thestar.com, Toronto.com, Workopolis, Olive Media, and EyeReturn Marketing.
