UPDATE 3-Scholastic loss widens, outlook disappoints

(Adds analyst comment, updates market activity)

By Robert MacMillan

NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - Children's book publisher Scholastic Corp (SCHL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday posted a wider quarterly loss because of a write-down and gave a disappointing outlook, citing a tough economy, and its shares fell as much as 11 percent.

"We're sensitive to the fact that difficult economic times may challenge our customers this spring and in the coming year," Chief Executive Richard Robinson said on a conference call with financial analysts.

"While we haven't yet seen any significant impact on our business from the tough economy," he said, "we have reduced spending in the third and fourth quarters to protect our profitability."

The U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter novels and other children's books said its net loss widened to $82.1 million, or $2.14 a share, in the third quarter ended Feb. 29 from $7.7 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier.

Scholastic took a write-down of $1.89 a share in the latest quarter for the planned sale of its direct-to-home sales business.

The loss from continuing operations, excluding a charge for a sublease termination, was 10 cents a share, better than the analysts' average forecast of 21 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 2.8 percent to $458.4 million, beating analysts' expectations of $454 million.