NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The New York Times Company has severely cut its dividend -- the pool of money it hands out to its shareholders, The New York Observer reported Thursday.
The cut included some 25 million dollars to the Sulzberger-Ochsclan, which owns The New York Times, said the report. That's about a 75-percent cut for what serves as one of the biggest sources of income for the entire family.
"This was a difficult but necessary decision that will provide us with greater financial flexibility in these uncertain economic times," Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman of the company, was quoted as saying in a statement.
The trustees of the Ochs-Sulzbergers reportedly sent out a statement supporting the decision and said that while it will be "very difficult" for its shareholders, the decision "serves the best interests" of the company.
"It's a big cut," Edward Atorino, an analyst at Benchmark who watches The Times Company, was cited as saying. "That's a 75 percent cut. I thought they'd do it in half."
Times Company stock tumbled again and closed Thursday at 5.72 dollars (only three cents above its 52-week low of 5.69 dollars). Its market cap is now only valued at 822 million dollars.
The company also unveiled its October revenue results, and it's only more bad news, said the report. Ad revenue is down 16.2 percent year over year and continuing operations is down 9.4 percent year over year.
