Tribune Publishing reports earnings

Tribune Publishing put out its earnings report for the first quarter June 5. The company had delayed the report. Some details:

• Total revenues were $216.5 million, down from $244.5 million in the first quarter of 2019.

• Net loss from operations was $44 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to a loss of $4.7 million in the first quarter of 2019.

• Loss from operations was $62 million, substantially due to non-cash impairment charges of $51 million, compared to a loss of $7.4 million in the first quarter of 2019.

• Adjusted EBITDA was $13.3 million, a decrease of $8 million compared to the first quarter of 2019.

• Digital-only subscribers increased 30.7% to 370,000 at the end of the first quarter 2020, up from 283,000 at the end of the first quarter 2019, and related revenue was up 42.4% compared to the first quarter of 2019.

“We have taken extensive and aggressive steps to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 including modification of manufacturing and distribution processes, reducing and freezing spending, eliminating incentive and discretionary bonuses and delaying non-essential repairs and maintenance along with difficult decisions that resulted in the elimination of positions, salary reductions and employee furloughs,” said Terry Jimenez, Tribune Publishing CEO and president.

“We recognize that coming out of the pandemic, the company must accelerate its digital footprint and position itself as a smaller, more nimble operation in order to sustain itself for the long term. Accordingly, we have and are aggressively flattening our management organization, reducing our real estate footprint and eliminating our fixed cost infrastructure. We believe the combination of these restructuring activities, cost saving measures, preserving our strong balance sheet and the reopening of businesses will favorably position the company's short and long-term financial future,” he said.

For the second quarter of 2020, the company expects total revenues of $172 million to $175 million and adjusted EBITDA of $10.5 million to $12 million, the report said.

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