Media General reports second-quarter loss

Media General News Service
Published: July 17, 2008

Media General Inc. today reported a 2008 second-quarter loss of $129,000, or 1 cent, compared with net income of $5.1 million, or 22 cents, in the same period last year.

The results for the quarter that ended June 30 include severance charges of 14 cents a share and discontinued operations, consisting of five television stations that have been or will be sold.

Media General reported total company revenue of $204.9 million in the quarter, down 10.2 percent from the same period in 2007.

Marshall N. Morton, the company’s president and chief executive officer, blamed the results on a weakening economy and a continued challenging business environment in the publishing division.

The publishing division reported a quarterly profit of $6.8 million, compared with $22.6 million in the 2007 second quarter. Total revenues decreased 14.7 percent, and newspaper advertising revenues declined 17.1 percent. Classified advertising revenues declined 29.5 percent.

“We continue to implement aggressive performance improvement actions, including workforce reductions, to better align expenses with current business conditions,” Morton said. “Total operating costs in the second quarter, excluding severance charges, decreased approximately 6 percent.”

Richmond-based Media General publishes 25 daily newspapers, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch; about 275 weekly newspapers, and it owns and operates 20 network-affiliated television stations, including WSLS.