By: E&P Staff In its first five months under bankruptcy protection, Tribune Co. has seen its revenue fall by nearly a quarter and its profit margins cut by more than half compared to last year.
Citing Tribune Co.'s bankruptcy filing, a Morningstar equity analyst and its own calculations, Crain's Chicago Business reported Monday that Tribune revenue had fallen 23% in the first five months of the year, while profit margins had declined to 8% from 19% in the first half of 2008. Tribune filed for bankruptcy reorganization last December.
Tribune said its operating receipts fell 14% between the beginning of the year and May 31. But the Chicago-based newspaper publisher and broadcaster remained cash-flow positive, taking in $112 more in cash than it spent during the five-month period, according to the account by Ann Saphir.
A Tribune spokesman told Crain's that since going private in December 2007, the company has re-engineered old products and launched new ones, while expanding local news programming, "dramatically" reducing expenses and positioning Tribune "to succeed in the face of an extremely difficult ad environment and a worsening economy."
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