Tribune Publishing, which owns The Chicago Tribune, The Daily News, and seven other metropolitan newspapers, has significantly increased its digital subscribers and sales over the past year, the newspaper chain announced on Thursday in its first profit publication since it signed a deal last month announced had bought Alden Global Capital from the hedge fund.
Tribune also announced it increased cash holdings by $ 36.7 million to nearly $ 100 million during the year and reduced total cost of ownership by more than $ 138 million.
In the fourth quarter, Tribune advertising revenue declined more than $ 32 million compared to the same quarter last year. This was a sharp drop, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic, while total subscription income fell by $ 3.1 million, although digital subscription income rose by $ 5.4 million.
Last month, Tribune and Alden announced that Alden would buy the 68 percent of the company’s shares it did not already own for $ 630 million, provided two-thirds of Tribune’s remaining shareholders approve the deal . Alden already owns dozens of newspapers across the country through a subsidiary, the MediaNews Group.
Terry Jimenez, who was named Chief Executive of Tribune in February 2020, pointed in a press release on the company’s digital gains to mitigate the “negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic” and position Tribune for a prosperous future. ”
Tribune gained around 102,000 digital subscribers in 2020, an increase of 30.5 percent for a total of 436,000. Digital revenue, including digital advertising and subscriptions, grew $ 16.5 million, or 57 percent.
“The steps we took over the year to streamline our cost structure, significantly reduce future commitments, pursue digital growth and invest in high quality content have enabled Tribune to create a platform that will work for will be successful for years to come, “said Jimenez.
Alden already has a 32 percent stake in Tribune, which it acquired at the end of 2019. The Manhattan-based hedge fund is known for cutting the cost of its own newspapers in order to increase profit margins. In January 2020, Tribune offered large-scale buyouts. After the pandemic hit the United States, it permanently cut some employees’ wages, initiated vacations, and also closed several offices of their newspapers.
Tribune said that considering the Alden deal, there would be no conference call to discuss the earnings announcement.
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