Pulitzer Ad Revenue Up 5% In 1Q

By: E&P Staff In what is likely to be its last financial statement before becoming part of Lee Enterprises Inc., Pulitzer Inc. reported Tuesday its first-quarter advertising revenue up 5% on strong growth in help-wanted classifieds.

Pulitzer reported first-quarter operating revenue increased 3.3% to $106.1 million from $102.7 million in the first quarter of 2004. Operating income increased 3.4% to $16.8 million, the company said.

Net income was down to $7 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, compared with $8.1 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, in the same quarter in 2004. Pulitzer noted its results included pretax expenses of $1.4 million "associated with the exploration of a range of strategic alternatives for the company" and the sale to Lee. First-quarter results also included $1.4 million in additional income tax expense related to the non-deductibility of certain expenses related to the acquisition by Lee.

"This was a good quarter, with solid revenue growth accompanied by continued tight control of operating expenses," Pulitzer President and CEO Robert C. Woodworth said in a statement. Pulitzer executives did not hold a conference call to discuss results.

Woodworth said the 5% ad revenue jump came from "strong performances at Pulitzer Newspapers Inc. (PNI)" -- the 13 dailies and 75 community papers and publications outside its headquarter St. Louis market -- as well as "across-the-board strength in the preprint category."

Classified advertising was up 3.4% for the quarter, Pulitzer said, fueled by help-wanted, which was up 4.9% at the flagship St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and 37.1% at the PNI papers. This offset weakness in the automotive category, Pulitzer said. Retail revenue, including retail preprint revenue, increased 6.0%, which Woodworth attributed to "the solid performance of Local Values, our St. Louis direct mail initiative, and the continued strength at PNI."

Pulitzer's share in the Tucson Newspaper Agency paid off, with total advertising revenues up 7.9 percent, led by a 9.4% gain in total classified. Help-wanted was up 22.2%.

Pulitzer circulation revenue decreased 3.2%, mostly because of lower Sunday circulation at the Post-Dispatch, and the "absence of favorable circulation adjustments processed in St. Louis during the first quarter of 2004," the company said.