By: E&P Staff Dallas Morning News parent A.H. Belo said Tuesday it lost $1.62 a share in the fourth quarter of 2008 on a 22% plunge in ad revenue that included shrinking Internet income.
For the full year 2008, revenue was down 14% on a 19% fall in ad revenue that A.H. Belo said was "driven by declines in classified revenue at The Dallas Morning News." Internet revenue of $47 million was 7.4% of total revenue for the year -- but represented a 12% slide from 2007.
In the fourth quarter, total revenue fell 15% from the year-ago period with ad revenue down 22%, again primarily on classified ad declines at the flagship Morning News.
Internet revenue of $11.1 million came in 16% below Q4 2007.
Fourth quarter circulation jumped 12%, mostly on the Morning News.
A.H. Belo said it took a non-cash goodwill impairment charge at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside California, and a charge of $14.0 million, or 47 cents per share, in non-cash future pension obligations.
For the full year, A.H. Belo results include charges of $11.1 million, or 37 cents per share, for its voluntary severance program in the third quarter, and $4.5 million, or 15 cents per share, related to the impairment of a 26-year-old printing press.
A.H. Belo said it generated consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $5.9 million in the fourth quarter and $6.1 million for the full year, excluding the non-cash pension obligation.
EBITDA newspaper margins excluding all special charges were 13% for Q4 and 10% for the full year.
A.H. Belo had $10 million in debt at the end of the year, unchanged from its third-quarter report. Last month, the company announced a change to its credit facility, making it a $50 million asset-based revolving credit facility, secured by all personal property assets of A.H. Belo and its subsidiaries plus certain specified real estate.
Robert W. Decherd, chairman, president and CEO, said, A. H. Belo was able to bring expenses down as revenue deteriorated rapidly, and so was able to "stabilize" EBITDA.
"The combined efforts of our corporate management team, operating company leadership, and every A. H. Belo employee enabled the company to reduce on-going cash operating expenses by $45 million in 2008 versus 2007, despite significant increases in newsprint prices," he said.
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