Back in Black: Platinum Equity Expects Profit in San Diego

By: E&P Staff The San Diego Union-Tribune is set to turn a small profit of $5 million this year on the heels of two rounds of back-to-back cost cuts.

Randy Dotinga reports for the Voice of San Diego that Platinum Equity, which purchased the paper in May from the Copley family, disclosed revenue and financial projections to staffers during a meeting last week.

Paul Bridwell with Platinum Equity said during the meeting that in 2006, the paper made $67 million in profit, thanks largely to a booming real estate market. By 2007 it dropped to $37 million, and in 2008 profit was $1 million. The Union-Tribune was set to loose $8 million this year.

The Union-Tribune's revenue plummeted 53% since 2006.

An unnamed staffer told Dotinga that Bridwell said during the meeting that they're not hoping for a turnaround but rather to position the paper towards that direction.

Platinum Equity assured employees that they were finished making cuts. In May, the Union-Tribune trimmed 192 positions and another 112 last week. The Union-Tribune has pared down its staff to roughly 750 from 1,400 as of the end of 2007, reports Dotinga.