Tribune Publishing reports third-quarter loss; shares fall

In its first quarterly financial report as a stand-alone company, Tribune Publishing Co. posted a third-quarter loss on lower advertising revenue and slightly higher costs.

The parent company of the Los Angeles Times lost $156,000, or 1 cent a share, compared to net income of $18.3 million, or 72 cents a share for last year’s third quarter. Revenue fell 4.7% to $404.1 million.

Total advertising revenue fell 9.5% to $220.8 million from last year’s third quarter. Digital advertising fell 7.4% to $44.5 million.

The news sent shares of the new company down as much as 21% in mid-day trading, though they recovered somewhat to close with a loss of $2.98, or 15.4%, to $16.39.

“Although we face secular challenges in print advertising, we are actively engaged in right-sizing the cost structure of the organization to align functions around business opportunities,” said John Bode, Tribune Publishing’s chief financial officer.

Tribune Publishing, based in Chicago, also owns the Chicago Tribune and eight other daily newspapers. It spun off from Tribune Media Co. on Aug. 4.

Last week, the publishing company acquired 38 suburban Chicago newspapers from Sun-Times Media at a price of $23.5 million, according to Wednesday’s financial statement.

Tribune Publishing also declared a fourth-quarter cash dividend of 17.5 cents a share, payable Dec. 10.