• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, February 12, 2015

Time Inc.’s first year as an independent company ended on a down note, as total revenues sank 7.3% from $966 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 to $895 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Excluding the impact of various acquisitions, closures, and divestments, total revenues would have been down 4%.

For the full year, total revenues declined 2.2% from $3.35 billion to $3.28 billion; revenues would have declined 5% when the same transactions are excluded.

Time Inc. magazines include Time, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Cooking Light and Sunset, among others.

These declines were due mostly to weakness in advertising revenues, which fell 8% to $496 million in the fourth quarter, and 2% to $1.78 billion in the full year. Time Inc.’s print and other advertising revenues were down 10% to $409 million in the fourth quarter, and 3% to $1.48 billion in the full year, as fewer advertising pages were sold.

However, digital advertising revenues were a bright spot, increasing 2% to $87 million in the fourth quarter, and 6% to $298 million for the full year. In the fourth quarter of 2014, digital ads contributed 17.5% of total ad revenues, up from 15.7% during the same period in 2013.

Time Inc.’s circulation revenues continued to decline, dropping 8% to $288 million in the fourth quarter, and 3% to $1.1 billion for the full year. Within these figures, subscription revenues fell 7% to $191 million in the fourth quarter, and 1% to $716 million for the full year. Newsstand revenues tumbled 12% to $89 million in the fourth quarter, and 8% to $356 million for the full year.

2015 isn’t expected to bring much relief: looking ahead, the publisher is projecting total revenues to decline a further 3%-6% from their 2014 levels, or 1.5%-4.5% when the impact of corporate transactions is excluded.

However, CEO Joe Ripp was optimistic about the potential to parlay the company’s well-known brands into new areas of business, noting: “One of the unique sources of upside for Time Inc. is the ability to extend our powerful brands into new revenue streams. We are very excited by the opportunities provided by our brands.”