The Reader’s Digest Association, Pleasantville, NY, had third-quarter 1999 revenue of $591.8 million, down 7% from $635.5 in third-quarter 1998. But the company’s net income for the quarter grew 71%, from $14.6 million to $25 million, in the same time period.
The company attributed part of its earnings improvement to lower, better targeted mail quantities resulting in improved response rates. This was true both for the magazine, and for its Books and Home Entertainment Products (Condensed Books, series and general books, recorded music, videos and The Good Catalog), which had lower promotion and product costs because of reductions in mail quantities and scaling back of marginally profitable lines.
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