By: (AP) Tribune Co. said Wednesday it expects a shortfall in third-quarter profits as a result of a difficult advertising environment compounded by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The warning follows similar statements in recent days by several other big media companies, including Dow Jones & Co., The New York Times Co., and E.W. Scripps Co.
Tribune, which owns 11 newspapers, 22 television stations, and more than 50 Web sites, announced 1,400 job cuts in June -- about 6% of its work force -- as a result of declining ad sales. It said the following month that it expected to be at the low end of Wall Street's estimates for the third quarter.
The consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call was for earnings of 17 cents a share, down from 22 cents a year earlier. Tribune did not say how far short of that estimate it expects to be.
Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune's president and chief operating officer, said the attacks led to advertising cancellations and higher newsgathering and newspaper production and distribution costs.
"Our first priority was to keep the public informed throughout the crisis, which carries with it significant financial implications," he said. "We published special editions at all of our newspapers, aired extended news coverage at our television and radio stations, and increased the traffic capacity at our Web sites."
Tribune's papers include the
Chicago Tribune, the
Los Angeles Times, and
Newsday.
Tribune shares fell 26 cents to close at $35.68 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange in trading before the statement was released.
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