McClatchy's Ad Rev Falls 29.5%, Digital Goes Negative

arrow downClose on the heels of very weak first-quarter results from The New York Times Co., the McClatchy Co. announced Thursday that its ad revenues fell 29.5% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, from $463 million to $284.7 million.

That drove a decline of 25.1% in total revenues, which tumbled from $487 million to $365.6 million. Like NYTCO, the decline exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts.

Continuing the trend of recent years, the steepest declines came in classified advertising, with overall revenues tumbling 41.8%.

Reflecting the sharp economic downturn, the biggest loser was recruiting, which plunged 63%, followed by real estate, which fell 44.3%, and autos, down 32.5%. Digital revenues sank 4.7%, as big drops in online recruitment listings canceled out gains in other areas.

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The company said that digital revenues now make up about 15% of the total -- but the percentage increase is clearly due to sharp contractions of the total. If total revenues had remained the same between 2008 and 2009, the proportion would have gone from 12.3% to 11.7%.

The McClatchy results come a week after NYTCO announced its own first-quarter earnings. At NYTCO, total ad revenues plunged 27% in the first three months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, from $458.3 million to $334.6 million. This drove a total revenue decrease of 18.6%, from $748 million to $609 million.

Operating profit at NYTCO plummeted from $77.7 million in 2008 to just $16.5 million this year. Internet advertising revenues -- a bright spot in years past -- were also weak, posting a 6.1% decline from $72 million to $67.6 million.

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