• by Paul Gough , March 1, 2004

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia said it will announce its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results Thursday, a day after a New York jury will begin deliberating the fate of its founder.

The company, which trades its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, had been one of the few media companies that hadn't yet announced the date of its quarterly earnings release, which is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia will release the earnings before the stock market opens. A conference call will be held with Wall Street analysts, investors, and journalists later that day.

On Friday, Stewart received good legal news when a District Court judge threw out the most serious charge that she was facing--that of securities fraud in connection with investors in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. That move pushed the stock up $1.42 in trading in heavy trading Friday, although it had settled down during action Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Stewart's trial is coming to a close, with prosecutors and Stewart's defense giving closing arguments Monday and today. Prosecutors charged Stewart with two counts of making false statements and a count each of conspiracy and obstruction of agency proceedings. They said she lied about a sale of Imclone stock when federal investigators questioned her. If convicted, she could face a five-year term and a $250,000 fine for each count.

While the remaining charges don't have anything to do with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, that hasn't stopped the company from bleeding ad pages and revenues since Stewart got into trouble. She was forced to resign as chief executive officer after she was indicted, but remains the company's chief creative officer. Stewart also remains on the board of directors, although if convicted, she would have to resign.

Analysts polled on Yahoo! Finance expect fourth-quarter revenues to be $72.1 million, compared to $77.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2002.