First-quarter net income fell to $39.3 million, or $4.08 a share, from $64.4 million, or $6.70 a share, a year earlier.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Washington Post Co <WPO.N> posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday as it took a charge for an early retirement program at its Newsweek magazine.
First-quarter net income fell to $39.3 million, or $4.08 a share, from $64.4 million, or $6.70 a share, a year earlier.
Results for the latest quarter included an after-tax charge of $1.60 per share for the Newsweek-related expenses. In the year-ago quarter, results benefited from a gain of 89 cents per share for the sale of land at an affiliate.
Excluding the charge, the company earned $5.68 per share, below the average analyst estimate of $6.58 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Revenue rose 8 percent to $1.06 billion.
The company said its education division, including the Kaplan unit, reported a 14 percent increase in revenue to $543.3 million. Newspaper revenue fell 6 percent to $206.1 million, including an 11 percent drop in advertising revenue at the Post.
(Reporting by Michele Gershberg, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
