Time Inc's revenue misses estimates as print ads dry up

REUTERS - Magazine publisher Time Inc posted lower-than-expected quarterly revenue as higher digital advertising revenue failed to make up for a fall in income from print ads.

Time, whose shares were down 5.6 percent in early trading on Thursday, said it now expected full-year revenue to range between flat and up 1.5 percent, compared with its previous estimate of an increase of 1-5 percent.

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bairstow said the forecast included the adverse impact of the restructuring of its sales and marketing divisions and Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

Like many publishers, Time has been hit by a fall in print ad sales as advertisers spend more on other media.

The publisher of Sports Illustrated, People and Time magazines has been cutting costs, tapping revenue sources with higher margins and beefing up its digital offerings.

Time plans to lay off about 110 of its employees to focus on the reorganization of its sales and marketing divisions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. (http://on.wsj.com/2aRQBJQ)

The company's print ad revenue, which accounts for more than 70 percent of ad sales, fell 12.8 percent in the second quarter, from a year earlier.

Digital advertising revenue rose 65 percent, helped by acquisitions, including that of advertising company Viant in February.

Time's net profit fell 25 percent to $18 million, or 18 cents per share, in the quarter ended June 30.

Revenue fell slightly to $769 million, missing analysts' average estimate of $782.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Excluding items, the company earned 22 cents per share, above the average analyst estimate of 15 cents per share.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)