Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Pruitt: "We think ad revenue will improve"

Ahead of Gary Pruitt's talk at the 37th Annual UBS Global Media & Communications Conference today, McClatchy issued a press release saying it expects ad revenue to improve. An excerpt:


McClatchy management noted today that it expects a continuation of the improving advertising revenue trends that began in the third quarter of 2009. Advertising revenues in the fourth quarter are expected to be down in the low- to mid-20s percent range compared to down 28.1% in the third quarter and 30.2% in the second quarter.
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Gary Pruitt, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "In addition to improving revenue trends, we expect cash expenses to be down in the high-20s percent range in the fourth quarter as we continue our focus on permanently reducing our costs. As a result, we expect operating cash flow in the fourth quarter to grow compared to last year. Similarly, in 2010 we expect to at least maintain if not grow operating cash flow."

Click here for the rest
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If you are interested, you can watch the presentation live at www.mcclatchy.com, and on www.ibb.ubs.com. I won't be watching but if you see it and have a reaction, email me or post it in comments.
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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

No different then when their big sister AP spins Dear Leader’s unemployment numbers saying less than catastrophic numbers means a great victory is at hand.

Will Pru also declare “Prosperity is right around the corner!”

Anonymous said...

"We think..."??? Did he actually say that or is this site trying to spin it back negatively?

Just wondering. If he indeed said "think", bad form.

Anyone that listened want to confirm?

Anonymous said...

I read he "expects" not " we think".

Editorial license taken by this site?

Hello Kettle.

Anonymous said...

What he said, basically, is that ad revenue is going to take yet another huge hit - down 20-25 percent in the 4th quarter. The good news, he is guessing, is that the big hit won't be as devastating as the 2nd and 3rd quarters of this year.
In other words, we're going to get slammed but maybe not as hard as previous quarters.

Anonymous said...

5:54: If you believe the White House's unemployment numbers, you're still writing letters to Santa. They're phony and they're manipulated to stir hope in people. No, we don't trust our government.

Anonymous said...

New York Times sees ad revenue dropping 25% (MarketWatch) (Hey, Pru's more upbeat than his commie competitor!)

New York Times said Tuesday that it expects fourth-quarter advertising revenue to drop 25%.

"While the print advertising market remains very challenging, trends have improved modestly as the quarter progressed," said Janet Robinson, chief executive of New York Times, in a statement.

Online ad revenue is expected to rise by about 10%. For the year, New York Times Co. expects total debt to be about $800 million, down from $1.1 billion at the end of 2008.

Robinson also said the company has completed its strategic review of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, and has decided to keep the newspaper.

Anonymous said...

"we expect cash expenses to be down..."

Orwell-speak for laid off workers. I wonder what percentage of corporate folks have been given pink slips or had their salaries cut compared to the people at each site actually doing the work. From what I've seen, the ranks of McClatchy corporate keep swelling even as those "cash expenses" are dealt with.

Anonymous said...

@7:35

"No, we don't trust our government."

Ah yes, time to dust off those old Clinton-era "I love my country but fear my government" bumper-stickers You remember those, don't you? Those are the ones you put into storage when George "Einstein" Bush took office.

Anonymous said...

Tend to agree with 7:35. The "You lie!" line is proving true in the case of Obama and his White House posse. No, I don't believe much of what is released by the Feds these days. Go back and check what Obama said and what he has actually done.

Anonymous said...

It's still hard times and will continue to be hard times for McClatchy, regardless of what the CEO spouts. Everybody knows it. If you work for the company you're reading this crap with a big dose of skepticism.

Anonymous said...

You can't build a newspaper that is good for shareholders that his crappy for employees, a waste of money for advertisers and an offense to readers.
The effect of declines in product quality have not yet been reflected in circulation numbers or advertising revenue.
Like Obama, McClatchy has taken temporary economic troubles and made them permanent.

Anonymous said...

I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter?