clarinews@clarinet.com (02/02/90)
MIAMI (UPI) -- Knight-Ridder Inc., publisher of The Miami Herald and other newspapers, said Thursday improvements in its Miami operation and lower newsprint prices helped boost profits for the fourth quarter and fiscal year. The company's profits for fiscal 1989 also were boosted by the sale of eight television stations and the Pasadena Star News in California. Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $62 million, or $1.18 a share, compared with $45.6 million, or 82 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. Revenues rose to $607.8 million from $574.7 million, the company said. Results for the most recent quarter included a gain of $7.2 million, or 13 cents a share, on the sale of the TV stations, Knight-Ridder said. ``The fourth-quarter bottom line also was helped significantly by a drop in interest costs,'' said Robert F. Singleton, the company's chief financial officer. Singleton said interest costs fell because Knight-Ridder paid down debt with proceeds from the sale of the stations and newspaper. Income for the year ended Dec. 31 was $247.2 million, or $4.71 a share, compared with $156.4 million, or $2.76 a share, for the previous year. Revenues rose to $2.27 billion from $2.08 billion a year ago. Results for 1989 include a gain of $66.9 million, or $1.27 a share, on the sale of eight broadcast stations, and $48.6 million on the sale of the Pasadena Star News, the company said. Knight-Ridder said its newspapers earned annual operating profits of $347.6 million, up from $299.7 million for 1988. Operating income for the quarter was $109.6 million, up from $86.9 million a year ago. ``Our newspapers showed substantial profit and margin increases thanks to improvements in Miami and weaker newsprint prices,'' Singleton said. The company's business information services division earned an annual operating profit of $12.1 million, up from $3.3 million for 1988. Looking ahead, Singleton said the company expects to benefit from the joint operating agreement between its Detroit Free Press and the rival Detroit News. ``The November approval of the JOA and the subsequent startup of the agency will have a profound impact on the future course of Knight-Ridder,'' he said. ``At a minimum, the annual losses we have suffered in Detroit since 1979 will not be repeated in 1990.''