Newspaper Publisher McClatchy Co. Reports Q2 Loss, But Growth In Digital Business

Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. reported second-quarter earnings before the market opened on Friday and said digital-only subscribers grew nearly 14% from the previous year's first quarter. The company reported a net loss of $37.4 million, or $4.91 per share for the second quarter, compared with a loss of $14.7 million, or $1.89 per share during the same quarter a year ago. The adjusted loss per share was 79 cents. McClatchy's revenue hit $225.1 million in the quarter, down 7% compared with the prior year. Total advertising revenue revenues were down 11% compared with the same quarter last year, while digital-only advertising revenue grew by 10%. The company said that the rate of decline in total advertising slowed in the quarter. "As I have mentioned before, achieving a normalized operating environment takes some time in digital transitions," McClatchy Chief Executive Craig Forman said in a statement. "While we continue to see strong headwinds in print advertising, we also are seeing our digital efforts in all aspects of the business moderate those headwinds." McClatchy's average total unique visitors to the company's online products grew close to 15% to 66 million in the quarter. Shares of McClatchy were inactive in morning trade on Friday, but have declined more than 34% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index have gained more than 10%.