• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, July 26, 2010

The newspaper business may be stabilizing, but many companies are still suffering revenue declines and net losses. A.H. Belo, which publishes The Dallas Morning News, is no exception. According to the company, total revenues sank 4.7% from $127.6 million in the second quarter of 2009 to $121.6 million in the second quarter of 2010, due mostly to a 12% drop in ad revenue.

Like other publishers, A.H. Belo executives noted that the most recent decline was smaller than previous quarters, holding out hope that the steep two-year drop is finally approaching bottom.

Still, even online advertising continued to post declines, with digital ad revenues decreasing 4.3% to $9.3 million. However, digital ad revenues excluding classifieds increased 2.5% to $4.2 million.

The company also saw circulation revenues increase 6.6%, due to higher newsstand and home-delivery prices for the Dallas Morning News. The results from A.H. Belo resemble other major newspaper publishers, which have seen the rate of decline in revenues moderate over the last two quarters, with circulation making a larger contribution to the bottom line.

At the New York Times Co., total ad revenues decreased 0.2% to $314.9 million in the second quarter of 2010, but this slight decline was more than offset by a 3.2% increase in circulation revenues, which rose from $227.5 million to $234.8 million.

Gannett Co. said total revenues at its publishing division fell 6% from $1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2009 to $1 billion in the second quarter of 2010, attributing this loss to a 5.7% drop in advertising revenues from $733.8 million to $692.2 million.