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Idaho News


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Statesman owner's revenue plunges amid classifieds meltdown

09:56 PM MDT on Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Associated Press & KTVB.COM

NEW YORK - McClatchy Co.'s stock sagged Wednesday after the newspaper publisher reported its April revenue fell on continued classified advertising declines.

The company, whose properties include The Idaho Statesman, The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee and The Charlotte Observer, said classified ad sales plunged 27.6 percent for the month on sharp drop-offs in real estate and employment categories.

The newspaper industry has struggled as consumers and advertisers continue to migrate to the Internet. Companies have tried to combat the issue by cutting costs and ramping up Web operations.

John Janedis of Wachovia Capital Markets LLC said the company's 14.8 percent revenue decline in April was below his estimate for a 13.8 percent slump.

"We do not see any signs of improvement in McClatchy's core California and Florida markets, or the overall real estate and help wanted categories weighing on ad revenues," the analyst wrote in a client note.

The company did not break out results for the Idaho market, though the Northwest cluster of newspapers dropped 16.6% from the same period a year ago.

Online operations in the northwest group saw revenue climb less than 1% - the lowest growth margin in the company. Online revenue in McClatchy's Texas region, for example, jumped 19.8%.

McClatchy's Idaho products include the Statesman, IdahoStatesman.com and Idaho Health magazine.

Shares of McClatchy fell 70 cents, or 7.5 percent, to $8.69. The stock has traded in a range of $7.93 to $29.55 in the last year.