NORTH CHELMSFORD — The specialty publisher Courier Corp. booked an 80 percent decline in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings yesterday because of a drop in the value of a division that sells home design books.
The company earned $1.1 million, or 9 cents per share, down from $5.7 million, or 48 cents, a year earlier.
The most recent quarter included $4.7 million in impairment charges related to Courier’s Creative Homeowner division, which has struggled over the past few years. Excluding the charges, earnings would have come to $4.2 million, or 35 cents per share. Revenue grew 3 percent, to $70.2 million.
Full-year earnings totaled $7.1 million, or 60 cents per share, compared with a loss of $3.1 million, or 27 cents per share, the year before.
The company said it expects growth next year. It projected earnings of 85 cents to $1.15 per share for 2011 on revenue of $269 million and $288 million.
