Newspaper and multimedia company Postmedia Network reined in its losses in the second quarter while a drop in business from national advertisers dragged revenues lower.
The Toronto-based company, formerly part of the Canwest media empire broken up in 2010, said Thursday that its net loss was $11.1 million in the three months ended Feb. 29.
That compared with a loss of $12.5 million a year earlier when it booked a $1.8-million loss from discontinued operations sold to Glacier Media last year.
In addition to the National Post, Postmedia’s papers also include the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen and two Vancouver dailies, the Sun and the Province.
Overall, revenues fell 7.6% to $198.6 million from $215 million.
The majority of the drop came from weakness in print advertising, which fell 10.6% or $14.5 million compared with the year-earlier period.
Digital revenue was up half a per cent, or $100,000, to $20.9 million.
“Along with our industry peers, we continue to see pressure on advertising revenue,” said president and CEO Paul Godfrey in a release.
“Both economic and structural factors are impacting our traditional revenue streams. Our ongoing focus is on transforming our cost structure and reducing debt.”
The company noted that it repaid US$3.6 million in outstanding debt, reducing what it owes in loans to $247.5 million.
It also repurchased and retired $6.4 million of its 12.5% senior secured notes, with $268.6 million in notes remaining.
