The New York Times Company swung to a loss in the first quarter amid a 9.2 per cent drop in print advertising that highlighted the continued decline of US newspapers.

For the quarter, the Times lost $350,000, or less than 1 cent per share, after recording a profit of $23.9m, or 17 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier. Revenues fell 4.9 per cent to $747.9m.