Postmedia Network Canada Corp. lost $3.9 million in the third quarter as the newspaper and digital publisher pulled in less print advertising revenues and paid out higher expenses.
“The slow and sporadic recovery in the Canadian economy has affected both consumer and advertiser confidence, and we’re seeing that in our industry,” Paul Godfrey, Postmedia’s CEO, said in a statement Tuesday.
The owner of the National Post newspaper and other major media properties said it generated $259 million in revenues in the three months ended May 31.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2011, which ends Aug. 31, Postmedia has lost $10.6 million with $788 million in revenue.
Year-earlier figures aren’t directly comparable because the newspapers were still part of Canwest, which was undergoing a court-supervised restructuring that resulted in its television assets going to Shaw Communications and its newspaper division going to creditors that helped form Postmedia.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2010, the Canwest papers recorded a profit of $40.6 million with $270 million of revenue. In the first nine months of fiscal 2010, the company reported $94.9 million in profit, and $811 million in revenues.
Postmedia, which began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange last month, recorded an $11 million loss on debt prepayment, versus zero in the same quarter last year.
Godfrey said the company’s team is focused on new approaches for delivering content, and providing solutions for advertisers and marketers, repaying debt and accelerating revenue generating opportunities.
The media organization owns 11 English-language daily newspapers such as the National Post, Vancouver Sun and Ottawa Citizen as well as the flagship Canada.com website and online versions of its daily papers.
