ProJo's Parent Cuts Losses

The chatter around the ProJo in recent weeks was that finances at the paper's Dallas-based parent company, A.H. Belo, might brighten a wee bit with the third-quarter earnings report. Those numbers were released today and, well, they could've been worse. From the Providence Business News:

DALLAS – The Providence Journal’s parent company, A. H. Belo Corp., on Friday said its third-quarter losses narrowed thanks to improved performance by its flagship newspaper, The Dallas Morning News.

A. H. Belo posted a net loss of $5.8 million, or 28 cents a share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a net loss of $17.3 million, or 83 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell 17.5 percent to $126.87 million.

The $5.8 million loss included both a $20 million non-cash charge related to the closing of a plant in Texas and a $12 million gain from a federal income tax refund.

While advertising sales continued to plummet, A. H. Belo increased the amount of money it gets from subscribers to The Morning News and The Journal.

The company’s ad revenue dropped 27 percent to $83.82 million from July through September, with classified revenue shrinking 40 percent. Circulation revenue, on the other hand, rose 11.6 percent to $35.23 million.

The Journal posted the best margin of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the quarter, followed by The Morning News and The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., A. H. Belo said.