CINCINNATI—Media company E.W. Scripps Co.—which shuttered the nearly 150-year-old Rocky Mountain News in Denver last week—on Monday posted a loss fourth-quarter loss, hurt by lower revenue and impairment charges.
Scripps, which owns a chain of local newspapers and TV stations, lost $12.6 million, or 24 cents per share, in the fourth-quarter, compared with a loss of $255.9 million, or $4.72 per share last year.
Revenue fell 6 percent to $264.9 million from $282.3 million last year.
The newspaper industry has been dealing with rising newsprint costs and falling revenue from advertisers who are cutting back in the recession and, in some cases, are fleeing to competition like the Web.
Television stations are also fighting advertising drops.
Results were hurt by $41.9 million in charges for the impairment of goodwill, indefinite and long-lived assets and the write-down of investment in its Colorado newspaper partnership.
For the year, net loss totaled $476.6 million, or $8.81 per share, from $1.6 million, or 3 cents per share a year earlier. Results were hurt by a $941 million charge for the impairment of goodwill and the write-down of some equity investments.
Revenue fell 7 percent to $1 billion from $1.08 billion.
Last month, the company said it expected a fourth-quarter loss from continuing operations before income taxes and minority interests of $19.4 million during the quarter. However, it did not release final net income or earnings per share figures because it was still in the process of finalizing the allocation of its provision for income taxes for 2008 and 2007 between its continuing and discontinued operations.
A spokesman at the time said income tax calculations were complicated by the spin-off of Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. last year.
At the time of the preliminary announcement, the company also announced an array of cutbacks, including cutting most salaries at newspapers and in corporate offices by 3 percent to 5 percent, suspending its matching 401(k) contributions and plans to freeze pension plans some time this year.
