NEW YORK—E.W. Scripps Co. took an $874 million charge to write down the book value of its assets, pushing its second-quarter result to a loss, the publisher said late Monday.
The Cincinnati-based company said $779 million of the charge was to reduce goodwill value of its businesses, which include The Commercial Appeal in Memphis and the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. The balance of the charge related to the declining value of its equity investments.
Goodwill is listed under assets on a company’s balance sheets and reflects the implied value of an intangible asset, such as a brand or intellectual property. Shares in newspaper companies have tumbled the past year, reducing the assumed value of their properties.
“The requirement to align the assets on our balance sheet with our market capitalization resulted in the company taking this action,” Chief Executive Rich Boehne said in a statement.
The charge, which was noncash and will not affect the company’s ability to operate, pushed its second-quarter result to a loss of $531 million, or $9.78 per share.
On July 24, the company had reported second-quarter profit of $51.2 million, or 94 cents per share. A year ago, it earned $97.5 million, or $1.78 per share.
Revenue was 4 percent higher, at $664 million, on increased ad sales at its HGTV, Food Network and DIY channels.
E.W. Scripps also operates television stations. It split off its cable networks and online shopping sites into a separate, publicly traded company called Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.
Scripps had said it would review the value of its goodwill because of the split, and likely take a related adjustment charge in the third quarter. It later decided the timing of the review would allow it to make the adjustment on second-quarter results.
