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Keith J. Kelly

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Time Inc. looks to wrap up UK unit sale, other mag sales by early 2018

By
Keith J. Kelly
Published Nov. 9, 2017, 10:51 p.m. ET

Time Inc. said it is hoping to wrap up the sale of some properties it has put on the block by early next year.

The properties include the British publishing unit, now known as Time Inc. UK, which was purchased in 2001 for $1.6 billion; several smaller, US-based magazines including Sunset, Golf and a majority stake in Essence; and Essence’s music festival.

Time is also trying to unload its Tampa, Fla.-based Customer Service Center — which employs close to 600 — and its aging computing and mailing-sorting equipment. The revenues of all the combined operations are about $448 million a year.

“The goal here is to wrap these up by year end or shortly thereafter,” CEO Rich Battista told Reuters following the company’s third-quarter earnings report Thursday.

But some investors remain skeptical of Time’s turnaround. With the stock dipping below $10 a share to a new 52-week low this week, some are openly questioning a decision to brush off Edgar Bronfman Jr. and other investors who were trying to buy the company for $18 a share earlier this year.

“You express an optimistic tone,” Leon Cooperman at Omega Advisors, which owns several million shares, said on an earnings call with Time executives. “And yet the stock is at historic lows.”

Battista pointed out that the company is projected to do $1 billion in non-magazine revenue this year, accounting for 35 percent of its overall revenue, up from only 22 percent two years ago.

“As we switch to more of these non-magazine revenues and they become a more pronounced part of our overall portfolio, we think we are going to start getting real credit for the value those revenues deserve in the marketplace,” countered Battista.

Time said third-quarter revenue was down 9 percent from a year earlier, to $679 million, hurt by the continued erosion of print advertising, while digital advertising in the quarter was up only 2.3 percent.

The company posted net income of $13 million, reversing a year-ago loss of $112 million. With tight cost controls, Battista said he still expects the company to be able to meet its $400 million operating income mark for the year.

“We are not where we want to be yet, but we are pleased with the progress of our strategic transformation plan,” Battista said.