McClatchy (NYSE American-MNI) recorded after-tax non-cash charges of $230.9 million in the third quarter of 2017, leading to a quarterly net loss of $238.9 million, or $31.28 per share. The non-cash charges relate almost solely to a non-cash deferred tax valuation allowance and, to a minor extent, after-tax non-cash impairments on newspaper mastheads and certain equity investments. The loss in the third quarter of 2016 was $9.8 million or $1.30 per share.
The company reported an adjusted net loss of $5.9 million, which excludes severance, impairments, the tax-valuation allowance, and certain other items in the third quarter of 2017. The quarterly results compare with an adjusted net loss of $2.1 million a year earlier.
Craig Forman, McClatchy’s president and CEO, said, “We reported record audiences in the third quarter of 2017, reaching 89 million unique visitors in the month of September. Our progress in newsroom reinvention, technology improvements and our reporting on Hurricane Irma boosted our audience growth. And while hurricanes and other events posed challenges to our communities, our people, and our operations in the third quarter, we still dramatically reduced the rate of decline in our adjusted EBITDA — down 7.7% excluding Hurricane Irma’s full impact compared with a 21% decline in the first half. We remain resolute in moving toward stabilized operating results, reducing leverage and accelerating the pace and cadence of our digital transition.”
Third Quarter Results
Total revenues in the third quarter of 2017 were $212.6 million, down 9.4% compared to the third quarter of 2016. The company estimates that in September, revenues (primarily ad revenues) from its East Coast operations were reduced by approximately $625,000 as a result of Hurricane Irma. Including the revenue impact due to Hurricane Irma, total revenues in the third quarter of 2017 would have been down 9.1% compared to the third quarter 2016.
Total advertising revenues were $115.3 million, down 13.4% in the third quarter of 2017 compared to the third quarter of 2016. The decline in advertising revenues continues to reflect the softness in traditional print advertising offset by improvements in digital-only advertising and, to a lesser extent, the improvements in direct marketing advertising.
Digital-only advertising revenues grew 8.2% in the third quarter of 2017, while total digital advertising revenues, which include digital-only advertising and digital advertising bundled as an up-sell with print advertising, declined 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Direct marketing declined 6.4% in the third quarter of 2017 compared to a decline of 14.5% in the same period last year. The improvement from the prior year is a result of the improved trends seen in the first half of the year continuing into the third quarter.
Audience revenues were $87.1 million, down 4.3% in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2016. Digital-only audience revenues were down 0.9%. The number of digital-only subscribers ended the quarter at 92,800, representing an increase of 15.6% from the third quarter of 2016 despite the loosening of paywalls in many of the company’s East Coast markets in September to make our information widely accessible to non-subscribers as a public service during Hurricane Irma.
more detail at: http://investors.mcclatchy.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=87841&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2308807