Postmedia loss widens on weaker Canadian dollar

A weaker Canadian dollar continues to drag down Postmedia Network Canada Corp.’s already struggling financial results as the newspaper company booked a $54-million net loss for the fourth quarter, which ended August 31.
That was worse than the $49.8-million loss in the same three months last year, and driven largely by “derivative financial instruments” as well as a $19.4-million foreign currency loss, because roughly half the company’s substantial debt is in U.S. dollars.
The results draw to a close another hard year for Postmedia, despite the breathing room the company bought by acquiring the Sun Newspaper chain from Quebecor Media in April. The fourth quarter saw print advertising revenue fall 13.7 per cent, following prior quarters when the percentage loss was sometimes above 20 per cent. Two other key revenue sources – circulation and digital – fell 4.8 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively in the quarter.
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