By: E&P Staff Knight Ridder reported on Thursday that total advertising revenue for February was up 1.5% compared to the same period last year. The results include the three newspapers acquired at the end of August but are not counted in the February 2005 period. The Detroit and Tallahassee papers were excluded from all periods.
Retail advertising grew 2.5%, but national plummeted 21.2%. Classified increased 10.4%. Within the classified category, help wanted rose 14.5%, real estate advanced 26.6%, and auto dropped 9.9%.
On a pro forma basis (which includes the three newspapers in the 2005 results), total ad revenue was down 1.7%. Retail decreased 1%. National fell 21.6%. Classified was up 6%. Within the classified category, help wanted was up 10.4%, real estate was up 21%, and auto was down 13.1%.
"It was a disappointing month, for us and for the industry," said Knight Ridder CEO Tony Ridder, in a statement. "In Knight Ridder's case, it came on top of very strong year-ago comparisons. Total ad revenue growth in February 2005 was 5% -- on an apples-to-apples basis, our best performance all year."
By market, Contra Costa, Calif., Miami, and San Jose, Calif., all reported ad growth, up 7.7%, 2.7%, and 2.4% respectively.
Philadelphia and Akron, Ohio, experienced ad revenue declines. Philadelphia was down 11.7% and Akron declined 11.4%.
"In Philadelphia, the problem is largely a fall-off in national advertising, with mid-single-digit declines in retail and classified as well. In Akron, it's across the board. Significantly, neither market is seeing the pick-up in classified that most of our other large markets are experiencing," said Ridder in a statement.
March results are expected to be better with growth in the low single digits, Ridder said.
In San Jose, retail was up 12.7%. In Charlotte, N.C., retail grew 2.2% and in St. Paul, Minn., it was up 1.9%. The other large markets were soft.
National was down in the double digits in every large market, down 12.6% in St. Paul and 30.8% in Philadelphia.
Circulation revenue was up 1.7%. On a pro forma basis, circulation revenue is down 2.1%.
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