New York Times suspends dividends

The New York Times Company has suspended quarterly dividends due to difficult market conditions.

The move followed a cut from 23c a share to 6c a share in November 2008.

NY Times Co Chairman Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. said in a statement that

“Today’s decision provides the Company with additional financial flexibility given the current economic environment and the uncertain business outlook. We have taken decisive steps to reduce capital spending, lower operating costs and re-evaluate our assets. Last month we announced a private financing transaction for $250 million in senior unsecured notes and warrants. We also recently announced that we are exploring the possible sale of our ownership interest in New England Sports Ventures, LLC. We expect the suspension of the dividend, coupled with our other actions, will help us decrease debt and improve the liquidity of the Company, a difficult but prudent measure in this operating environment.”

Shares in the company (NYSE:NYT) traded up 1.63% in after marketing trading after being down 5.39% for the day prior to the announcement being made.

The move isn’t surprising, and does reinforce the difficult situation both the Times, and the broader industry is in.