Newspapers and Technology March 2000
Business Briefs
The Lexis-Nexis Group, a unit of Reed Elsevier Inc., agreed to purchase the Business Information Product division of the Financial Times Group.
The transaction enabled BIP products, which includes FT Profile, FT Discovery and FT NewsWatch, to reach new European markets.
As part of a growth program backed by more than $60 million of investment, The Wall Street Journal Europe expanded and is on sale across Europe.
The expansion is part of a program to increase circulation from approximately 83,000 daily to 140,000 by the end of 2003.
The Wall Street Journal Europe now features an extra section called "Networking," which focuses on news and analysis of new media, management and technology shaping the global economy.
The paper's content is also more closely integrated with that of The Wall Street Journal's Web site, www.wsj.com.
Journal Register Co. announced that total revenue for 1999 was $469.6 million, an increase of 10 percent from the 1998 total of $426.8 million.
The company further reported record diluted earnings per share of 31 cents for the fourth quarter of 1999 and $1.02 diluted earnings per share for the year ending Dec. 26, 1999.
Online revenue for the company's 27 Web sites increased approximately 50 percent in the fourth quarter, amounting to $727,000. At the end of 1999, total online revenue reported as $32 million, approximately 75 percent greater than the 1998 total.
In 1999, Journal Register switched from a calendar year to a fiscal year that ends on the Sunday closest to Dec. 31. This resulted in a loss of five days and a reduction of fourth quarter and year-end figures.
The Times Mirror Co. increased its first-quarter dividend from 20 cents to 22 cents per share on all outstanding series A and series C common stock, yielding an annual rate of 88 cents per share.
Other quarterly cash dividends include $9.94 per share to be paid on all outstanding shares of cumulative convertible preferred stock, series A, and $7.25 per share on all outstanding shares of preferred stock, series D-1 and series D-2.
The dividends are payable March 10 to shareholders of record on Feb. 18.