Dolan Media reports 10 percent increase in profits

Dolan Media, the parent company of a number of business newspapers, reported fourth-quarter profits that rose 10 percent due to help from the economic turmoil, which drives its foreclosure information business.

Danielle Ulman, a reporter for the Daily Record in Baltimore, one of the papers it owns, writes, “Dolan said despite the government’s ‘well-intentioned’ actions, foreclosures would continue to grow, allowing the company’s business to grow. The company does not have plans for any acquisitions in 2009.

“Dolan’s two divisions, business information and professional services, both brought in revenue for the quarter. In the business information division — the side that publishes nearly 60 business and legal newspapers — public notice revenue grew by 8.6 percent for the quarter to $10.1 million, with much of that growth coming from the acquisition of The Mecklenburg Times in Charlotte, N.C.

“Circulation revenue fell 5.3 percent to $3.2 million, the result of decreased bulk renewals of publications at several law firms.

“On the professional services side of the company, which provides specialized services to the legal profession, revenue grew 105 percent to $37 million for the quarter. Dolan subsidiary American Processing Company LLC, a leading provider of mortgage default processing services in the country, provided a boost to the company with $19.5 million in revenues.”

Read more here. Dolan Media owns the Long Island Business News, Mississippi Business Journal, the Colorado Springs Business Journal, the Idaho Business Review and the Daily Journal of Commerce in Portland, Ore., among others.