Tribune Reports February Revenues Down
3%
Business
shows signs of improvement
10-K filing notes Q1 impact of new accounting rules and restructuring
charge
CHICAGO, March 18, 2002 -- Tribune
Company (NYSE: TRB), one
of the country's premier media companies, operating businesses
in broadcasting, publishing and on the Internet, today reported
its summary of revenues and newspaper advertising volume for
period 2, ended March 3, 2002. Consolidated revenues for the
period were $386 million, down 3 percent from $399 million
in the same period last year.
This 3 percent decline represents a sequential
improvement compared with the 21 percent and 7 percent declines
in December 2001 and January 2002, respectively. The sequential
improvement is continuing in March aided by the upcoming Easter
holiday.
Publishing revenues decreased 4 percent in
February to $294 million, down from $308 million in the same
period last year. Total advertising revenue decreased 7 percent
to $223 million, down from last year's $241 million. Total
advertising inches decreased 3 percent in February from the
same period last year.
For February, retail advertising revenue decreased
1 percent due to declines in the department store and other
retail categories. These were partially offset by gains in
the food, home furnishing and electronics categories. Full
run retail volume was down 4 percent. National advertising
revenue was down 7 percent due to weakness in the auto manufacturers,
travel/resort and financial categories, partially offset by
movies/entertainment and hi-tech; full run national volume
declined 9 percent. Classified advertising revenue was down
14 percent due to continued softness in help wanted. Higher
real estate and auto partially offset the decline. Full run
classified volume was down 5 percent for the period.
Broadcasting and Entertainment group revenues
decreased 2 percent to $86 million, down from $87 million
in February 2001. Television revenue decreased 3 percent in
February due to the continued soft television advertising
economy.
Tribune Interactive revenues grew 51 percent
to $6 million in February, up from $4 million in the same
period last year due to the continued strength of online classifieds.
Tribune Files 2001 10-K
In its 10-K filed today with the SEC, Tribune said it expects
to record a pretax charge of approximately $270 million ($165
million after taxes, or $0.50 per diluted share) in the first
quarter of 2002 as a result of the adoption of the new accounting
rules covering goodwill and other intangible assets. The charge
relates to the write down of certain intangible assets including,
newspaper mastheads, television network affiliation agreements
and FCC licenses and will be presented as a separate line
item in the company's 1st Quarter income statement titled
"cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle."
A copy of the 10-K is available on our website at tribune.com.
The 10-K also details a pretax restructuring
charge of approximately $20 to $30 million that the company
expects to record in the first quarter of 2002. The charge
is primarily related to further staff reductions in publishing.
Earnings Guidance
Consistent with the guidance provided at the Bear Stearns
Media, Entertainment and Information Conference on March 5th,
full year operating cash flow and earnings should grow in
the low single digits, even with flat revenues, because of
a 2 percent reduction in cash expenses. If the economy recovers
quickly, earnings could increase in the high single to low
double digit range. In either case, first quarter earnings,
excluding restructuring charges and the projected write down
for intangible assets, are expected to be within the current
range of analysts' estimates.
:: :: ::
TRIBUNE (NYSE:
TRB) is one of the country's premier media companies,
operating businesses in broadcasting, publishing and on the
Internet. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households,
and is the only media company with television stations, newspapers
and Web sites in the nation's top three markets. Tribune media
span 23 major-market television stations, including national
superstation WGN-TV; 12 market-leading daily newspapers, including
the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday; and news
and information Web sites in 18 of the nation's top 30 markets.
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. Such comments and statements
should be understood in the context of Tribune's publicly
available reports filed with the SEC, including the most current
annual report, 10-K and 10-Q, which contain a discussion of
various factors that may affect the company's business. These
factors 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.
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