Times Co. reports loss, but beats expectations

The Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe, Boston.com, and other media properties, posted a loss of $35.6 million for the quarter. Its operating profit, however, surged 30.2 percent from a year ago to $80.6 million, excluding a series of accounting charges and special items.

The company said it earned 16 cents a share for its ongoing operations, up from 5 cents in the same quarter a year ago. The results were better than Wall Street’s expectation of a penny loss.

Yesterday’s better-than-expected results sent shares of Times Co. up 23 percent to close at $10.72.

Times Co. Chief Executive Janet Robinson said on a conference call with analysts that the company made progress as a result of “the aggressive restructuring of our business.’’

Circulation revenues, from the sale of newspapers, grew 6.7 percent, to $240.8 million. The company’s New England Media Group, which includes the Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, contributed strongly to the improved performance. Circulation revenue in the unit rose 18.4 percent to $45.9 million, after a sharp increase in subscription and newsstand prices for the Globe.

The Times Co. last week said it was no longer selling the Globe, in part because of better financial results. The New England group’s total revenues fell 12.6 percent in the quarter to $109.7 million - marking a far more modest decline than the unit experienced in recent quarters. Total revenue for the Times Co. fell 17 percent to $570.6 million.

Advertising revenue fell 27.2 percent in the New England group, in line with industry trends as the recession and Internet continue to batter the news business.

The company said it is still considering a sale of the Worcester T&G. A group of local businessmen led by Ralph D. Crowley Jr., chief executive of Polar Beverages Co., and Harry T. Whitin, a former T&G editor, have expressed interest in buying the Worcester paper.

The Times Co. also said it has received bids on its 18 percent stake in New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox and 80 percent of the NESN cable channel. A sale is expected by year’s end.

One of the biggest charges the Times Co. took in the third quarter was $76.1 million related to withdrawing from certain pension obligations at the Globe.

The company has slashed $475 million in expenses this year - driven by the sale of a retail news distribution business, employee wage and benefit cuts, the closing of the Globe’s Billerica plant, and historically low prices of newsprint. The total workforce is 20 percent smaller than a year ago.

And it will get smaller. Earlier in the week The New York Times said it would cut 8 percent of its newsroom, or 100 jobs, in a buyout. “The move was made with reluctance,’’ Robinson said, adding that there would be more cuts on the business side of the company as well.

The company is starting to see nascent signs of an economic recovery. Advertisers have begun to express more interest in print and digital ads, Robinson said.

Beth Healy can be reached at bhealy@globe.com.