Dow Jones & Company Announces Fourth Quarter Results.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 9, 1998--Dow Jones & Company announced earnings before special items for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 1997 of $38,725,000, or 40 cents a share, bringing earnings for 1997 before special items (including restructuring charges restructuring charge The expense of reorganizing a company's operations. A restructuring charge is an infrequent expense that generally results from asset writedowns or facility closings. and dispositions of non-strategic assets in the first and fourth quarters) to $122,390,000, or $1.27 a share. In the 1997 fourth quarter, as it had previously announced it would, the company took a major charge against earnings largely representing the write-down of goodwill associated with Dow Jones Dow Jones the best known of several U.S. indexes of movements in price on Wall Street. [Am. Hist.: Payton, 202] See : Finance Markets. That charge, the vast bulk of it non-cash, totaled $922,537,000, or $9.56 a share. Additionally, the company took charges against earnings to restructure its television operations, and to restructure IDD (1) (International Direct Dial) Long distance dialing between countries without operator intervention. Also known as international standard dialing (ISD). Enterprises, L.P., as well as recording a gain on the sale of a newsprint newsprint low grade paper used for newspapers. Old newspapers are fed to cattle as an alternative roughage and may occasionally be ingested by dogs. Significant amounts of lead are accumulated in tissues; no cases of poisoning have been recorded in cattle, though it has been mill and related timberlands. All of the fourth-quarter charges, net of the one-time gain, totaled $928,040,000, or $9.62 a share, leaving the company with a net loss in 1997 of $802,132,000, or $8.36 a share. The loss for the fourth quarter was $889,315,000, or $9.22 a share. Revenue increased 3.7%, to $2.57 billion, for all of 1997, and 2.7%, to $689,485,000, for the fourth quarter. Cash from operations increased 13% to $460 million for the year. Both the revenue and the cash from operations figures are the highest in the company's history. The net loss for 1997 compares with 1996 earnings of $189,969,000, or $1.96 a share. Earnings in the fourth quarter of 1996 were $59,643,000, or 62 cents a share. "While results at Dow Jones Markets were obviously disappointing in 1997, virtually every one of our other businesses, from The Wall Street Journal to Dow Jones Newswires Dow Jones Newswires is the real-time financial news organization owned by Dow Jones. Founded in 1882, its primary competitors are Bloomberg L.P. and Reuters. The company reports more than 420,000 subscribers -- including brokers, traders, analysts and fund managers -- as of July to our Ottaway community newspapers Ottaway Community Newspapers (formerly Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.) is a subsidiary of Dow Jones and owns newspapers in California, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Campbell Hall, New York. , enjoyed a record year," said Peter R. Kann, chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Dow Jones & Company. He added, "The restructuring charges we've announced position Dow Jones for a stronger performance in 1998 and beyond." The business publishing segment, which includes results of the company's print publications, some television operations and the Dow Jones Interactive Publishing group, posted 1997 operating income Operating Income The profit realized from a business' own operations. Notes: This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit. of $218,596,000, compared with operating income of $159,418,000 in 1996. Fourth-quarter operating income was $51,570,000, compared with $66,592,000 in the like period of 1996. The 1997 results reflect the previously-announced restructuring restructuring - The transformation from one representation form to another at the same relative abstraction level, while preserving the subject system's external behaviour (functionality and semantics). of IDD Enterprises, L.P., of which Dow Jones now owns 100%, as well as that part of the television restructuring charge relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc the company's U.S. television operations. Excluding restructuring charges, business publishing segment operating income for 1997 totaled $240,357,000, an increase of 50.8%, and segment operating income in the fourth quarter totaled $73,331,000, an increase of 10.1%. Business publishing segment revenue for 1997 rose 8.7% to $1.32 billion, while segment revenue for the quarter rose 8.2%, to $369,682,000. Advertising linage lin·age also line·age n. 1. The number of lines of printed or written material. 2. Payment for written work at a specified amount per line. linage Noun 1. at The Wall Street Journal rose 8.6% for the fourth quarter, and 13.4% for all of 1997. The financial information services See Information Systems. segment includes the results of Dow Jones Markets, Dow Jones Newswires and the Dow Jones Indexes group. The operating loss operating loss The excess of operating expenses over revenue. As with operating income, operating losses exclude revenues and expenses from operations that are not considered a regular part of the business. Also called deficit. Compare operating income. in this segment in 1997 was $992,965,000, compared to operating income of $155,848,000 in 1996. For the fourth quarter, the operating loss in 1997 was $1,005,405,000, compared to operating income of $36,911,000 in the like period in 1996. Excluding restructuring charges for Dow Jones Markets, the operating loss for the financial information services segment was $13,463,000 for 1997, and $25,903,000 in the fourth quarter. Revenue for the segment declined 2.9% for 1997 to $951,720,000, and fell 5.1% in the fourth quarter to $240,497,000. Fourth- quarter revenue at Dow Jones Markets fell 10.7%, or 5.9% excluding the impact of foreign exchange. For all of 1997, revenue at Dow Jones Markets fell 8.7%, or 4.4% excluding the impact of foreign exchange. The restructuring charge for Dow Jones Markets leaves Dow Jones Markets with a book value of approximately $550,000,000. Trading of futures and options on the Dow Jones Averages Dow Jones Averages A trademark used for three indexes of the relative price of selected industrial, transportation, and utility stocks based on a formula developed and periodically revised by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. began under license from Dow Jones during the fourth quarter. In that initial quarter, trading on the Chicago Board of Trade Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) The second largest futures exchange in the US, and a pioneer in the development of financial futures and options. and the Chicago Board Options Exchange Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) A securities exchange created in the early 1970s for the public trading of standardized option contracts. Primary place for the trading of stock options, foreign currency options, and index options (S&P 100, 500, and OTC 250 index) totaled 911,608 futures and futures options Futures option An option on a futures contract. Related: Options on physicals. futures option A put or call option on a futures contract. contracts, and 2,029,938 options contracts (including LEAPS). Ottaway Newspapers, Inc., the company's community newspaper subsidiary, reported 1997 operating income of $50,584,000, an increase of 15.6%. Revenue rose 4.6%, to $300,611,000. Advertising linage at Ottaway's 19 daily newspapers fell 1.2% in the fourth quarter, and rose 0.7% for all of 1997. In connection with Dow Jones' previously-announced global business television alliance with NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. , and the resulting restructuring of Dow Jones' television operations, the company recorded a total charge against fourth-quarter earnings of $22,112,000, or 23 cents a share. The results announced today do not include a small gain anticipated upon the completion of the previously-announced sale of television station WBIS WBIS Web-Based Information System +, New York. That transaction awaits FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. approval, which is expected during the first quarter of 1998. As previously announced, Dow Jones also recorded a gain in the fourth quarter of $27,725,000, or 29 cents a share, on its sale of its 35 percent interest in Bear Island Paper Company, L.P., a newsprint mill, and Bear Island Timberlands Company, L.P. to Brant-Allen Industries. Dow Jones & Company (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : DJ) publishes The Wall Street Journal and its international editions, The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, Barron's magazine Barron's magazine is an American weekly newspaper covering U.S. financial information, market developments, and relevant statistics. Each issue provides a wrap-up of the previous week's market activity, news reports, and an outlook on the week to come. and other periodicals, the Dow Jones Indexes, electronic financial information services and the Ottaway group of community newspapers. Electronic information services include: Dow Jones Markets, a leading global provider of news and market information, decision-support applications, trading-room systems and transaction services for financial institutions; Dow Jones Newswires; and Dow Jones Interactive Publishing, which provides business information to corporations and consumers by computer, telephone, facsimile and radio. Dow Jones is co-owner with NBC of the CNBC CNBC Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (artificial intelligence) CNBC Consumer News and Business Channel CNBC Congress of National Black Churches, Inc. television operations in Asia and Europe, which are branded "a service of NBC and Dow Jones." Beginning this Spring, Dow Jones will also provide news content to CNBC in the U.S., which will be similarly branded during the business day. Worldwide, the new CNBC will reach more than 165 million homes. -0-
DOW JONES & COMPANY
Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income
For the Years ended December 31, 1997 and 1996
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Percentage
Increase
1997 1996 (Decrease)
REVENUES:
Information services $1,101,696 $1,125,625 (2.1)%
Advertising 1,011,864 896,981 12.8
Circulation and other 458,958 458,986
Total revenues 2,572,518 2,481,592 3.7
EXPENSES:
News, operations and
development 899,868 820,564 9.7
Selling, administrative
and general 895,707 831,270 7.8
Newsprint 152,478 164,766 (7.5)
Second class postage
and carrier delivery 114,442 110,256 3.8
Depreciation and amortization 250,734 217,756 15.1
Restructuring 1,001,263
Operating expenses 3,314,492 2,144,612 54.5
Operating (loss) income (741,974) 336,980 -
OTHER INCOME (DEDUCTIONS):
Investment income 3,473 4,249 (18.3)
Interest expense (19,367) (18,755) 3.3
Equity in losses of
associated companies (49,311) (5,408) -
Gain on disposition of
businesses and investments 52,595 14,315 -
Other, net (9,300) (121) -
(Loss) income before income
taxes (763,884) 331,260 -
Income taxes 37,796 147,728 (74.4)
(Loss) income before minority
interests (801,680) 183,532 -
Minority interests in (earnings)
losses of subsidiaries (452) 6,437 -
NET (LOSS) INCOME $ (802,132) $ 189,969 -
NET (LOSS) INCOME PER SHARE:
- Basic $(8.36) $1.96
- Diluted (8.36) 1.95
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DOW JONES & COMPANY Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income For the Quarters ended December 31, 1997 and 1996 (in thousands, except per share amounts) Percentage Increase 1997 1996 (Decrease) REVENUES: Information services $ 279,646 $292,245 (4.3)% Advertising 291,586 262,287 11.2 Circulation and other 118,253 116,718 1.3 Total revenues 689,485 671,250 2.7 EXPENSES: News, operations and development 249,422 217,251 14.8 Selling, administrative and general 237,942 217,972 9.2 Newsprint 44,333 37,408 18.5 Second class postage POSTAGE. The money charged by law for carrying letters, packets and documents by mail. By act of congress of March 3, 1851, Minot's Statute at Large, U. S. 587, it is enacted as follows: 2.-Sec. 1. and carrier delivery 30,683 29,541 3.9 Depreciation and amortization 68,999 55,414 24.5 Restructuring 1,001,263 Operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. 1,632,642 557,586 - Operating (loss) income (943,157) 113,664 - OTHER INCOME (DEDUCTIONS): Investment income 910 1,174 (22.5) Interest expense (4,445) (6,072) (26.8) Equity in losses of associated companies associated company associate n → Partnerfirma f associated company n → società collegata (27,280) (6,858) - Gain on disposition of businesses and investments 46,416 Other, net (6,741) 388 - (Loss) income before income taxes (934,297) 102,296 - Income tax (benefit) (45,026) 43,999 - (Loss) income before minority interests (889,271) 58,297 - Minority interests in (earnings) losses of subsidiaries (44) 1,346 - NET (LOSS) INCOME $ (889,315) $ 59,643 - NET (LOSS) INCOME PER SHARE: - Basic $(9.22) $0.62 - Diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. (9.22) 0.62 -0-
DOW JONES & COMPANY
Segment Highlights
(in thousands)
Percentage
Increase
Years Ended Dec. 31: 1997 1996 (Decrease)
Revenues:
Business publishing $ 1,320,187 $1,214,336 8.7%
Financial information
services 951,720 979,745 (2.9)
Community newspapers 300,611 287,511 4.6
Operating (loss) income:
Business publishing $ 218,596 $ 159,418 37.1
Financial information services (992,965) 155,848 -
Community newspapers 50,584 43,766 15.6
Percentage
Increase
Quarters Ended Dec. 31: 1997 1996 (Decrease)
Revenues:
Business publishing $ 369,682 $ 341,524 8.2%
Financial information
services 240,497 253,299 (5.1)
Community newspapers 79,306 76,427 3.8
Operating (loss) income:
Business publishing $ 51,570 $ 66,592 (22.6)
Financial information
services (1,005,405) 36,911 -
Community newspapers 14,117 15,655 (9.8)
-0-
CONTACT: Dow Jones & Company, New York Richard Tofel Richard Tofel is the president and chief operating officer of the International Freedom Center. Mr. Tofel took over that position in October 2004. Mr. Tofel served as a vice president of Dow Jones & Company from 1997 until joining the International Freedom Center, and as the , 212/416-2951 http://www.dowjones.com |
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