Glacier Media revenue down in 3rd quarter

Both revenue and earnings fell in the third quarter, Glacier Media Inc. reported Friday.
Glacier, which owns the Nelson Daily News, Cranbrook Daily Townsman, Trail Times, Kamloops Daily News, Prince George Citizen, Alaska Highway News, Prince Rupert Daily News, the Real Estate Weekly and Kodiak Press, plus dozens of other newspapers across Canada, reported revenue of $50,838,000 for the three months ending Sept. 30, 2009, down 15.2 per cent ($59,932,000) from the same period last year.
While EBITA for the quarter declined 44.0% to $5.7 million from $10.1 million in the same period last year, net income actually improved to $4,243,000 from $3,968,000.
The company blamed “weaker advertising revenues incurred during the summer which negatively impacted July and August results. Local newspaper advertisers and trade advertisers cut back spending during the summer months, likely to save money during this period of slower business and consumer activity, given the challenges the recession has caused for many advertisers.”
But by September results improved with local newspaper revenues recovering to 90 per cent of September 2008 levels. September EBITA was down only 2.6 per cent. Real estate advertising revenues especially started to recover in September, a positive sign going forward, the company reported.
Cost savings, including those from layoffs, reduction in hours for part-time employees and reduced newsprint consumption resulted in Glacier’s total operating expenses being 13.1 per cent lower in September 2009 than September 2008.
These savings were partially offset by lower advertising rates in some markets, the company reported.
Glacier paid down $7.4 million of debt during the quarter and spent $1.9 million on capital expenditures, primarily to expand several printing facilities and upgrade production technology.
Relatively low debt levels means the company will “evaluate acquisitions, share buy-backs and operating investment opportunities …
“Management is monitoring opportunities in the United States and Canada closely to identify acquisitions that can benefit Glacier. It is expected that the recession will create distressed conditions that should offer a variety of attractive opportunities.”Glacier