Pulitzer Inc. Reports Fourth-Period Revenue for Five Weeks Ended
May 2, 2004 ST. LOUIS, May 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pulitzer
Inc. today announced that revenue increased 4.8 percent for the
five-week accounting period ended May 2, 2004 and increased 4.6
percent for the eighteen-week year-to-date period when compared to
the respective 2003 periods. April 2004 advertising revenue in St.
Louis and at the 12 Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. ("PNI") markets
increased 5.4 percent, with increases of 2.3 percent at the St.
Louis operations and 14.0 percent at PNI. On a comparable basis,
excluding the results of PNI acquisitions absent in the comparable
periods of 2003, total revenue increased 3.9 percent for the
five-week period ended May 2, 2004 and increased 3.8 percent for
the eighteen- week year-to-date period. Total comparable
advertising revenue increased 4.5 percent for the five-week period
ended May 2, 2004 and increased 4.6 percent for the eighteen-week
year-to-date period. April 2004 comparable advertising revenue
increased 2.3 percent at the St. Louis operations and 10.5 percent
at PNI. Comparable advertising revenue increased 3.2 percent at the
St. Louis operations and 8.3 percent at PNI for the eighteen-week
year-to-date period. The principal components of the fourth-period
comparable advertising revenue results for St. Louis and PNI were:
-- Comparable retail advertising revenue, including preprints,
increased 2.9 percent. Comparable retail ROP revenue increased 1.0
percent, principally due to strength in the grocery, entertainment,
and furniture categories, as well as gains in local territory
revenue, which increased 7.4 percent in St. Louis. These gains were
partially offset by weakness in the department store, home
improvement, and electronic segments. Comparable St. Louis and PNI
retail ROP revenue decreased 1.4 percent and increased 6.0 percent,
respectively. Comparable retail preprint revenue increased 7.9
percent in St. Louis and 3.9 percent at PNI. -- Comparable national
advertising revenue, including preprints, decreased 10.4 percent
versus the comparable 2003 period, principally due to weakness in
the pharmaceutical and telecommunication categories, particularly
in St. Louis. Comparable national preprint revenue decreased 9.2
percent for the period and comparable national ROP revenue
decreased 10.7 percent. Comparable national advertising revenue,
including preprints, decreased 13.7 percent in St. Louis and
increased 65.9 percent at PNI. -- Comparable classified revenue
increased 10.8 percent, with growth in all major categories.
Comparable Classified Advertising Revenue Percentage Change 2004
Versus 2003 Total Pulitzer, including Tucson Tucson Total Newspaper
Newspaper PERIOD 4 St. Louis PNI Pulitzer Agency Agency Help Wanted
6.7% 36.5% 13.2% 59.2% 18.2% Automotive 13.5% 10.1% 12.7% 16.3%
13.1% Real Estate 5.8% 16.9% 8.8% (5.1%) 7.6% Total Classified
Revenue 8.4% 18.0% 10.8% 22.6% 12.0% Comparable Classified
Advertising Revenue Percentage Change 2004 Versus 2003 Total
Pulitzer, including Tucson Tucson Total Newspaper Newspaper
Year-to-date St. Louis PNI Pulitzer Agency Agency Help Wanted 6.4%
30.7% 11.5% 42.6% 15.0% Automotive 8.8% 5.1% 7.9% 5.3% 7.6% Real
Estate 9.0% 18.2% 11.5% (0.9%) 10.3% Total Classified Revenue 7.9%
15.7% 9.9% 13.0% 10.2% April 2004 revenue associated with the
Company's 50 percent interest in the Tucson Newspaper Agency
("TNI") increased 5.2 percent, and total advertising revenue
increased 6.9 percent. TNI retail revenue, including preprints,
decreased 1.7 percent with a 14.1 percent decrease in retail ROP
partially offset by a 41.2 percent increase in retail preprint
revenue. Local territory revenues decreased 4.7 percent for the
period. TNI national revenue, including preprints, increased 7.5
percent. April classified revenue increased 22.6 percent. Pulitzer
Inc., through various subsidiaries and affiliated entities, is
engaged in newspaper publishing and related new media activities.
The Company's newspaper operations include two major metropolitan
dailies, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Arizona Daily Star in
Tucson, Ariz., and, through its Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. ("PNI")
subsidiary, 12 other dailies and more than 65 weekly newspapers,
shoppers and niche publications. The PNI dailies are The
Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.; The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah; the
Santa Maria Times, Santa Maria, Calif.; The Napa Valley Register,
Napa, Calif.; The World, Coos Bay, Ore.; The Sentinel, Hanford,
Calif.; the Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, Ariz.; The Daily
Chronicle, DeKalb, Ill.; The Garden Island, Lihue, Hawaii; the
Daily Journal, Park Hills, Mo.; The Lompoc Record, Lompoc, Calif.;
and The Daily News, Rhinelander, Wisc. The Company's newspaper
operations also include the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis,
a group of 38 weekly papers and various niche publications. The
Company's new media and interactive initiatives include
STLtoday.com in St. Louis, azstarnet.com in Tucson, and Web sites
for all of its other dailies. Pulitzer Inc. is the successor to the
company originally founded by Joseph Pulitzer in St. Louis in 1878.
For further information, visit our Web site at
http://www.pulitzerinc.com/. NOTES: Statements in this press
release concerning the Company's business outlook or future
economic performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses
or other financial items, together with other statements that are
not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" as that term
is defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
stated in such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other
factors include, but are not limited to, industry cyclicality, the
seasonal nature of the business, changes in pricing or other
actions by competitors or suppliers (including newsprint), outcome
of labor negotiations, capital or similar requirements, and general
economic conditions, any of which may impact advertising and
circulation revenues and various types of expenses, as well as
other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that the
expectations reflected in "forward-looking statements" are
reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements. Accordingly, investors are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on any such "forward-looking
statements," and the Company disclaims any obligation to update the
information contained herein or to publicly announce the result of
any revisions to such "forward-looking statements" to reflect
future events or developments. PULITZER INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
PERIOD REVENUE AND STATISTICAL REPORT (Revenue in
thousands--Unaudited) Five Five 18 18 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended
Ended Ended Ended May 2, May 4, May 2, May 4, 2004 2003 Change 2004
2003 Change (Note 3) (Note 3) Consolidated Operating Revenue (Note
1): Advertising: Retail $12,130 $11,875 2.1% $ 39,959 $ 38,435 4.0%
National 2,291 2,566 (10.7%) 8,452 9,387 (10.0%) Classified 13,308
11,871 12.1% 45,555 40,957 11.2% Total 27,729 26,312 5.4% 93,966
88,779 5.8% Preprints 6,932 6,567 5.6% 21,150 20,299 4.2% Total
Advertising 34,661 32,879 5.4% 115,116 109,078 5.5% Circulation
7,941 7,918 0.3% 28,509 28,114 1.4% Other 797 628 26.9% 2,509 2,465
1.8% Total $43,399 $41,425 4.8% $146,134 $139,657 4.6% Operating
Revenue of Consolidated Subsidiaries: St. Louis Operations (Note
2): Advertising $24,565 $24,021 2.3% $ 82,110 $ 79,567 3.2%
Circulation 5,929 5,931 (0.0%) 21,317 20,889 2.0% Other 265 103
157.3% 714 548 30.3% Total $30,759 $30,055 2.3% $104,141 $101,004
3.1% Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. Advertising $10,096 $ 8,858 14.0% $
33,006 $ 29,511 11.8% Circulation 2,012 1,987 1.3% 7,192 7,225
(0.5%) Other 532 525 1.3% 1,795 1,917 (6.4%) Total $12,640 $11,370
11.2% $ 41,993 $ 38,653 8.6% Operating Revenue of Unconsolidated
Newspaper Joint Venture: Pulitzer's 50% share of Tucson Newspaper
Agency: Advertising $ 4,253 $ 3,977 6.9% $ 14,631 $ 14,550 0.6%
Circulation 1,123 1,122 0.1% 4,151 4,170 (0.5%) Other 23 35 (34.3%)
140 159 (11.9%) Total $ 5,399 $ 5,134 5.2% $ 18,922 $ 18,879 0.2%
Note 1 Year-to-year comparisons are affected by prior-year weekly
newspaper acquisitions that complement the Company's newspapers in
several markets. On a comparable basis, excluding the impact of the
acquisitions for comparable ownership periods in each year,
advertising and total revenues would have increased as follows:
Five Weeks 18 Weeks Comparable Change Comparable Change Total Total
Pulitzer PNI Pulitzer PNI Advertising Revenue 4.5% 10.5% 4.6% 8.3%
Total Revenue 3.9% 8.1% 3.8% 5.7% Note 2 Includes revenues of the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis,
St. Louis e-media operations, and STL Distribution Services. Note 3
Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2003 financial
statements and statistical data to conform with the presentation
made in 2004. PULITZER INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES PERIOD REVENUE AND
STATISTICAL REPORT SELECTED STATISTICAL INFORMATION Five Five 18 18
Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended May 2, May 4, May
2, May 4, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change (Note 3) (Note 3)
Advertising Linage (in thousands of inches) ST. LOUIS
POST-DISPATCH: Advertising Inches Full run (all zones) Retail 68.2
72.8 (6.4%) 240.4 241.3 (0.4%) General 15.4 18.0 (14.0%) 57.4 65.5
(12.3%) Classified 97.4 96.8 0.6% 327.0 340.1 (3.9%) Total 181.0
187.6 (3.5%) 624.8 646.9 (3.4%) Part run (Retail/ Classified) 59.8
54.1 10.6% 190.2 164.1 15.9% Total Inches 240.8 241.7 (0.4%) 815.1
811.0 0.5% TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star/Citizen advertising inches
Full run (all zones) Retail 140.1 152.2 (7.8%) 503.4 531.1 (5.2%)
General 6.3 7.3 (13.7%) 28.0 31.1 (10.2%) Classified 166.4 145.7
14.2% 560.2 531.5 5.4% Total 313.1 305.2 2.6% 1,091.6 1,093.7
(0.2%) Part run (Retail/ Classified) 4.4 6.8 (34.7%) 17.3 25.5
(32.0%) Total Inches 317.5 312.0 1.8% 1,108.9 1,119.2 (0.9%)
Year-to-Date Period Average Average 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003
Change Circulation (Note 4): ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Daily 279,985
295,343 (5.2%) 281,119 288,151 (2.4%) Sunday 445,179 471,363 (5.6%)
453,688 467,600 (3.0%) COMBINED PULITZER NEWSPAPERS, INC.: Daily
192,679 194,124 (0.7%) 190,437 191,531 (0.6%) Sunday 189,627
191,421 (0.9%) 188,352 191,145 (1.5%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star
Daily 109,980 106,386 3.4% 112,519 110,228 2.1% Citizen Daily
32,274 35,112 (8.1%) 32,900 35,812 (8.1%) Combined Daily 142,254
141,498 0.5% 145,419 146,040 (0.4%) Star Sunday 171,478 172,749
(0.7%) 177,927 180,341 (1.3%) Five Five 18 18 Weeks Weeks Weeks
Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended May 2, May 4, May 2, May 4, 2004 2003
Change 2004 2003 (Note 3) (Note 3) Change Online Page Views (in
thousands) St. Louis 38,003 24,706 53.8% 133,717 81,975 63.1%
Combined PNI Web sites 9,031 7,177 25.8% 35,282 28,742 22.8%
Combined Tucson Web sites 6,435 5,960 8.0% 26,775 25,613 4.5% Note
4 Year-to-date circulation levels represent averages (unaudited)
for the current ABC annual audit periods ending September 30 and
December 31 for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Tucson Newspaper
Agency, respectively. Year-to-date PNI amounts represent combined
averages (unaudited) for the annual periods ending December 31.
DATASOURCE: Pulitzer Inc. CONTACT: James V. Maloney, Director of
Shareholder Relations, of Pulitzer Inc., +1-314-340-8402 Web site:
http://www.pulitzerinc.com/
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