Tribune Co 2Q EPS 28 Cents Vs 73 Cents

07-13-06 06:23 AM EST

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Tribune Co. (TRB) said second-quarter net income dropped 62% to $87.8 million, or 28 cents a share, hurt by losses at Atlanta and Albany television stations it is planning to sell.

Earnings from continuing operations also declined, to 53 cents a share from 72 cents a share, including a gain of 1 cent a share from a tax adjustment and a non-operating loss of 3 cents a share.

Revenue in the second quarter dropped 1.4% to $1.43 billion on a decline in circulation revenue and flat advertising revenue from its newspapers.

Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were looking for second-quarter earnings of 55 cents a share on revenue of $1.46 billion.

On Wednesday, Tribune acquired 10 million common shares from the McCormick Tribune Foundation and the Cantigny Foundation for $32.50 a share. Tribune also expects to repurchase up to an additional 20 million shares in the open market by the end of 2006.

In addition, the company said it plans to achieve cost savings of $200 million over the next two years and sell noncore assets totaling at least $500 million.