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A.H. Belo Corp., Journal parent company, cuts loss

8:25 AM Fri, Oct 30, 2009 | Permalink
By Neil Downing

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A.H. Belo Corp. of Dallas, which owns the Providence Journal Co., narrowed its loss for the third quarter despite a drop in revenue.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the company reported a net loss of $5.8 million, or 28 cents a share.

That compares with a net loss of $17.3 million or 84 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier.

Overall revenue for the third quarter came to $126.9 million, down 17.5 percent from the year-earlier period.

But the company cut its expenses by neary 20 percent during the period.

Advertising revenue fell 27 percent. Internet revenue dropped 15 percent, and represented 7.6 percent of total revenue in the quarter.

A.H. Belo's publications include the Providence Journal, Dallas Morning News, and Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif. Its Web sites include projo.com.

Robert W. Decherd, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement that the drop in advertising revenue eased slightly in the third quarter when compared to the first and second quarters of 2009 due to the improved performance of The Dallas Morning News.

Decherd also said that the company's profit margins, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, were highest at The Providence Journal, followed by The Dallas Morning News and The Press-Enterprise.