Quarterly Income Fell 26% for The New York Times Co.

Quarterly Income Fell 26% for The New York Times Co.

“The advertising marketplace was volatile during the quarter,” the chief executive, Janet L. Robinson, said. “The progress we made on the print advertising front in October and November was not sustained in December due to a combination of difficult year-over-year comparisons and advertiser caution about the economy and consumer spending.”

Print advertising in the January started out soft and strengthened as the month progressed, the company said.

The Times Company reduced expenses in the fourth quarter by 5.3 percent from the last three months of 2009 — including depreciation, amortization and costs associated with severance packages for employees.

The company ended the year with about $597 million in net debt compared with $732 million at the end of 2009.