Times Mirror Reports Loss of $66.6 Million for 1992 : Media: Fourth-quarter restructuring and accounting charges offset profit in the company’s ongoing operations.

Times Mirror Co., which publishes the Los Angeles Times, on Wednesday reported a loss of $66.6 million for 1992, reflecting one-time restructuring charges, a sluggish economy and changes in accounting practices for retiree medical benefits.

The annual loss is the first ever for the Los Angeles-based media company since its stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1964. But, excluding the impact of special charges, Times Mirror’s earnings rose to $1.43 per share in 1992. In 1991, profit before one-time charges was $1.17 per share.

Times Mirror, which owns several newspapers, other publications, television stations and cable systems across the nation, reported net profit of $81.9 million in 1991.

Financial gains in the company’s ongoing operations were overshadowed by several extraordinary charges posted in the fourth quarter of 1992. And the performance of the company’s largest newspapers--The Times and Newsday in New York--were dragged down by weak regional economies.

“Our 1992 financial results before special items showed improvement despite the adverse economic conditions which affected all businesses, especially the Los Angeles Times and Newsday,” Robert F. Erburu, Times Mirror chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

For the fourth quarter, Times Mirror reported a net loss of $61.7 million. The company posted a loss of $13 million during the same period in 1991.

Fourth-quarter revenue was $1.01 billion, compared to $974.4 million for the same period in 1991. Revenue for all of 1992 was $3.7 billion, compared to $3.6 billion in 1991.

On a per-share basis, net loss for the company was 52 cents a share in 1992, contrasted with a gain of 64 cents a share in 1991.

The special charges, after taxes, included $65.3 million to cover the cost of employee buyouts at the Times and Newsday newspapers and $145.5 million that reflected a change in accounting rules that require companies to account for future retiree medical and life insurance benefits.

The charges also included $58 million related to a restructuring of the Matthew Bender legal publishing company, which is reducing its staff by about one-third and changing its product line in response to the economic downturn in the legal profession.

Although some analysts noted that the one-time charges were larger than expected, they said Times Mirror’s restructuring and cost-cutting efforts should strengthen the company’s financial position.

Wall Street reacted favorably to the announcement, with Times Mirror stock closing up $1.50, to $33.75, on the New York Stock Exchange.

While Times Mirror’s full-year operating profit dropped sharply in its publishing divisions, profit rose strongly at the company’s cable television unit, up 12% from 1991, and in its broadcast television operations, which climbed 36%.

The broadcast and cable television operations “did offset the downturn that we experienced in our newspaper area,” Erburu said.

Much of the underlying improvement at the company during 1992 was reached through productivity gains and cost cutting, Erburu said.

Further gains in productivity should allow the company to recover the one-time costs of the employee buyouts and corporate restructuring within two years, he added.