Although its education business performed strongly, the Washington Post Company's earnings were down 77 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to the same period the year before, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

The company's results were hindered by impairment charges of US$75.7 million due to writedowns in its business and community newspapers. Profits of businesses relying less on print advertising, helped revenues rise by 3 percent, to $1.16 billion.

Kaplan, the Post company's educational division, saw revenues rise by 13 percent last quarter, while newspaper revenues saw a drop of 13 percent. The company's cable TV division added subscribers and increased fourth quarter revenue by 11 percent, according to the Financial Times.