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2005 ANNUAL REPORT 3
For our company to achieve this in full, four
principal things have to happen:
1. Kaplan has to realize its potential. As much
progress as our education company has made
in ten years, we still have a chance to be sub-
stantially bigger and better.
2. The Post and washingtonpost.com together
have to equal or surpass the reach and com-
petitive strength The Post has traditionally had
in the Washington area (and Newsweek needs
rapid growth from its web affiliate).
3. Post –Newsweek Stations must keep the quali-
ties that make it such a strong company in
the face of the blizzard of upcoming changes
in broadcasting.
4. Cable ONE has to continue to maneuver its
way past satellite, telephone and other com-
petitors and build on its unique strength in the
markets it serves.
That’s a lot to do. To abbreviate: Kaplan’s
growth has been extraordinary and has to go on
for us to succeed. But the media businesses
accounted for 76% of our operating income in
2005; their continued success is as important to
our future as the growth we hope for and expect
from Kaplan.
▼▼▼
Let us try to unscramble a complicated 2005:
Kaplan became our most profitable business for
the first time. Writing that sentence still feels some-
what amazing: ten years ago, Kaplan had rev-
enues of $89 million and lost money. It was so
small we recorded its results in the “other” seg-
ment. Last year, Kaplan’s revenues were 40% of
The Post Company’s. The education company
employs 8,980 people, 55% of the company’s
total full-time employees.
Kaplan is thriving. And it’s thriving because of
outstanding management, starting with CEO
Jonathan Grayer and extending deep into many
businesses. The record at Kaplan since Jonathan
took over in 1994 is more than extraordinary.In
the years to come, Kaplan will become a bigger
and bigger part of our total business. This will
change our company.
That said, Jonathan and I would both tell you
that 2005 was not, across the board, a good year.
Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, Kaplan
International and our online Kaplan University
turned in great results. But a big miss at our brick-
and-mortar campuses brought Kaplan’s results in
at a disappointing level.
Why do I write this when our bottom line shows
Kaplan earning $158 million, against $121 mil-
lion in 2004? This probably is a good time to spell