Tribune Revenues Down 3.6% in April
Tribune Revenues Down 3.6% in April
Publishing Advertising Revenues Decline 10.3%; Television Revenues Down 1.1%
CHICAGO, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) today reported its summary of revenues and newspaper advertising volume for period 4, ended April 29. Consolidated revenues for the period were $399 million, down 3.6 percent from last year's $414 million.
Publishing revenues in April were $279 million compared with $305 million last year, down 8.6 percent. Advertising revenues decreased 10.3 percent to $217 million, compared with $242 million in April 2006.
-- Retail advertising revenues decreased 6.8 percent as weakness in the
specialty merchandise, home furnishings and department store
categories was partially offset by strength in hardware/home
improvement. Preprint revenues, which are principally included in
retail, were down 8 percent. Retail revenues were adversely impacted by
the shift of Easter advertising from period 4 in 2006 to period 3 in
2007.
-- National advertising revenues declined 8.2 percent; weakness in the
financial and auto categories was partially offset by strength in
movies.
-- Classified advertising revenues decreased 14.9 percent. Real estate
fell 20 percent with significant declines in the Florida markets due to
difficult year-over-year comparisons. Help wanted declined 13 percent
and automotive decreased 12 percent. Interactive revenues, which are
primarily included in classified, were $21 million, up 20 percent, due
to growth in all categories.
Circulation revenues were down 7.2 percent due to selective discounting in home delivery and lower single-copy sales.
Broadcasting and entertainment group revenues in April increased 10.2 percent to $121 million compared with $110 million last year primarily due to more Cubs home games. Television revenues fell 1.1 percent; a significant decrease in political advertising as well as weakness in restaurant/fast food and retail was partially offset by strength in automotive and movies.
Important Additional Information Regarding the Merger and the Tender Offer will be filed with the SEC:
In connection with the proposed merger transaction, Tribune Company will file a proxy statement and other documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSED MERGER TRANSACTION, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER RELEVANT MATERIALS WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement (when available) and other documents filed by Tribune with the SEC at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/. The definitive proxy statement and other relevant documents may also be obtained free of charge on Tribune's website at http://www.tribune.com/ or by directing a request to Tribune Company, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, Attention: Investor Relations. You may also read and copy any reports, statements and other information filed by Tribune with the SEC at the SEC public reference room at 450 Fifth Street, N.W. Room 1200, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 or visit the SEC's website for further information on its public reference room.
Tribune Company and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be "participants" in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Tribune in connection with the proposed merger transaction. Information about Tribune and its directors and executive officers and their ownership of Tribune common stock is set forth in the proxy statement for Tribune's Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which Tribune is required to file with the SEC. Shareholders and investors may obtain additional information regarding the interests of Tribune Company and its directors and executive officers in the merger transaction, which may be different than those of Tribune's shareholders generally, by reading the proxy statement and other relevant documents regarding the merger transaction, which will be filed with the SEC.
This press release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell any shares of Tribune's common stock. The solicitation of offers to buy Tribune's common stock is being made pursuant to the offer to purchase and related materials that the company has sent to its shareholders. Shareholders should read those materials carefully because they contain important information, including the various terms and conditions of the offer. Shareholders can obtain copies of the offer to purchase and related materials filed by the company as part of the statement on Schedule TO on April 25, 2007 through the SEC's internet address at http://www.sec.gov/ without charge. Shareholders can also obtain copies of the offer to purchase and related materials, filed with the SEC (excluding exhibits), without charge from the company or by written or oral request directed to Innisfree M&A Incorporated, 501 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, telephone number 1 (877) 825-8621 (banks and brokerage firms call collect (212) 750-5833).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain comments or forward-looking statements that are based largely on the company's current expectations and are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties. You can identify these and other forward-looking statements by the use of such words as "will," "expect," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "intend," "continue," or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements also include the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements. Actual results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in these statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include risks related to the transactions being consummated; the risk that required regulatory approvals or financing might not be obtained in a timely manner, without conditions, or at all; the impact of the substantial indebtedness incurred to finance the consummation of the tender offer and the merger; the ability to satisfy all closing conditions in the definitive agreements; difficulties in retaining employees as a result of the merger agreement; risks of unforeseen material adverse changes to our business or operations; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans, operations, and business growth initiatives; the risk associated with the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Tribune and others following announcement of the merger agreement; and other factors described in Tribune's publicly available reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the most current annual 10-K report and quarterly 10-Q report, which contain a discussion of various factors that may affect Tribune's business or financial results. These factors, including also the ability to complete the tender offer or the merger, could cause actual future performance to differ materially from current expectations. Tribune Company is not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the published date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet service providers. Tribune's next quarterly 10-Q report to be filed with the SEC may contain updates to the information included in this release.
TRIBUNE (NYSE:TRB) is one of the country's top media companies, operating businesses in publishing, interactive and broadcasting. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only media organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in the nation's top three markets. In publishing, Tribune's leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), The Sun (Baltimore), South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant. The company's broadcasting group operates 23 television stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago's WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and information websites complement Tribune's print and broadcast properties and extend the company's nationwide audience.
TRIBUNE COMPANY
SUMMARY OF REVENUES AND NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING VOLUME (Unaudited)
For Period 4 Ended April 29, 2007
(In thousands)
Period 4 Year-to-Date
2007 2006 % 2007 2006 %
---- ---- --- ---- ---- ---
Publishing (A)
----------
Advertising
Retail $ 90,912 $ 97,513 (6.8) $ 383,370 $ 391,596 (2.1)
National 45,928 50,054 (8.2) 223,560 231,814 (3.6)
Classified 80,000 94,039 (14.9) 340,742 396,471 (14.1)
------ ------ ------- -------
Sub-Total 216,840 241,606 (10.3) 947,672 1,019,881 (7.1)
Circulation 40,586 43,749 (7.2) 175,457 188,046 (6.7)
Other 21,391 19,577 9.3 87,182 82,324 5.9
------- ------- ------- ---------
Segment Total 278,817 304,932 (8.6) 1,210,311 1,290,251 (6.2)
------- ------- --------- ---------
Broadcasting &
Entertainment
--------------
Television (B) 90,621 91,620 (1.1) 355,067 357,411 (0.7)
Radio/Enter. 30,032 17,900 67.8 48,594 36,211 34.2
------ ------ ------- -------
Segment Total 120,653 109,520 10.2 403,661 393,622 2.6
------- ------- ------- -------
Consol. Rev.
(A)(B) $ 399,470 $ 414,452 (3.6) $ 1,613,972 $1,683,873 (4.2)
========== ========== =========== ==========
Total Advertising Inches (A)(C)
------------------------
Full Run
Retail 388 387 0.3 1,596 1,597 (0.1)
National 187 219 (14.6) 886 1,016 (12.8)
Classified 631 761 (17.1) 2,697 3,172 (15.0)
--- --- ----- -----
Sub-Total 1,206 1,367 (11.8) 5,179 5,785 (10.5)
Part Run 1,435 1,660 (13.6) 6,170 6,620 (6.8)
----- ----- ------ ------
Total 2,641 3,027 (12.8) 11,349 12,405 (8.5)
========== ========== =========== ==========
Preprint Pieces (A)(C)
---------------
Total 1,045,449 1,043,873 0.2 4,530,107 4,372,401 3.6
========== ========== =========== ==========
(A) In the first quarter of 2007, Tribune Company agreed to sell its
Southern Connecticut Newspapers -- The Advocate (Stamford) and
Greenwich Time (collectively "SCNI") and its New York edition of Hoy.
The 2007 and 2006 results for these businesses have been excluded from
this presentation.
(B) Excludes results from discontinued operations that were sold in 2006
(WATL-TV, Atlanta, WLVI-TV, Boston and WCWN-TV, Albany).
(C) Volume for 2006 has been modified to conform with the 2007
presentation. Volume includes only the daily newspapers and is based
on preliminary internal data, which may be updated in subsequent
reports.
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: salcaraz@tribune.com
Source: Tribune Company
CONTACT: Media, Gary Weitman, +1-312-222-3394, gweitman@tribune.com, or
Investors, Ruthellyn Musil, +1-312-222-3787, rmusil@tribune.com, both of
Tribune Company, fax, +1-312-222-1573
Web site:
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Profile: intent
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