• by Sara Guaglione , November 2, 2016

Tronc’s third-quarter earnings report revealed the company suffered an advertising revenue loss of 10.9% compared to the same period last year, due to “declines in print advertising in line with industry trends,” according to the publisher formerly known as Tribune and owner of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune.

Total revenues were down 6.8% to $378 million, compared to $406 million in the third quarter of 2015.

Total revenues for troncM, which is made up of Tronc’s media groups excluding their digital revenues and expenses, were $323 million or a decrease of 7.6% compared to the third quarter of 2015.  

“Advertising revenue declines were the main contributor to the decrease,” the company stated.

Total revenues for troncX, which includes all the digital revenues and related expenses of the company, were $57 million or a decrease of 2.3% from last year.  Advertising revenues for troncX declined by 2.2% while content revenues declined by 2.8%.  

Yesterday, rival publisher Gannett pulled out of a deal to acquire Tronc after six months of negotiations. Several banks set to finance the deal got cold feet last week, claiming Gannett’s bid of $18.75 per share overvalued Tronc.

In Tronc’s third-quarter earnings report, CEO Justin Dearborn said the company is “disappointed” Gannett pulled out of the deal, but “not surprised” their board wants to “refocus their attention to operating the assets they currently own.” He noted their third-quarter earnings report showed a 11.7% year-on-year drop in its ad revenues and a 6.4% drop in its circulation revenues.

“We have repeatedly acknowledged that we must all undertake significant change to our business to address the challenging environment facing our industry,” Dearborn stated.

According to Politico’s Morning Media, in an earnings call yesterday afternoon Dearborn said speculation that Tronc “got greedy and tried to renegotiate for additional value” is “completely false.”

Gannett pulled out of the deal to “focus on improving their own cost structure and integration issues rather than compounding their challenges,” he said.