E.W. Scripps posts 3Q loss as political ads slump

[November 09, 2011]  CINCINNATI (AP) -- The E.W. Scripps Co., newspaper publisher and television station owner, reported a loss of $10.7 million, or 19 cents per share for the third quarter.

In the same period a year ago, Scripps earned a profit of $6.2 million, or 10 cents per share.

The company said Tuesday that about half of the loss resulted from a non-cash charge to account for the declining value of assets at four of its newspapers.

Revenue fell nearly 9 percent to $168 million from $184 million a year ago, when political TV advertising boosted results.

The company said revenue at its TV stations fell 11 percent to $70 million. Newspaper revenue fell 4 percent to $96 million because of a decline in advertising.

In the current quarter, the company said it expects TV revenue to decline by a "high teens" percentage and newspaper revenue to decline by about 4 percent.

Scripps owns newspapers such as the Ventura County Star in California and The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tenn. Its stations include WCPO in Cincinnati and WPTV in West Palm Beach, Fla.

After the results came out, the company's stock rose 43 cents, or 5.1 percent, to close at $8.91.

[Associated Press]

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