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TORONTO – Postmedia Network Canada Corp. must make tough decisions in markets where revenues from digital services are not growing fast enough to offset declining revenues from publications, said executive chairman Paul Godfrey on Wednesday. The Toronto company, owner of the National Post and other daily newspapers as well as other print and digital publications, reported a net loss of $ 15.5 million in the third quarter ended May 31.
Postmedia's total business figure fell to a percentage from the previous year, reflecting a shift in readership and advertising for digital forms of content across social media and the Internet for years.
Printed advertising revenues account for most of the decline. or 16%, while print circulation revenues decreased by $ 4.5 million, or almost 8%. The digital business figure has increased from $ 2 million to $ 29.9 million.
Godfrey said in a statement before the quarterly conference call that Postmedia must take the necessary steps to focus on areas where we can win and make decisive decisions. "
The cost reduction initiatives that were implemented in the third quarter will result in net annual savings of $ 7 million," said Mr. Godfrey at the call
. by the end of the fourth quarter, which will end on August 31, by voluntary departures and layoffs.
The company said on June 26 that it would stop printing newspapers in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Kirkland Lake, Ont., And Pembroke, Ont., But will have a digital presence in the United States. three communities.
He also announced the closure of two community newspapers in Alberta and four community newspapers in Ontario.
Last November, Torstar Corp. and Postmedia exchanged a total of 41 publications, mostly in Ontario, which resulted in the closure of most of them.
In the third quarter of last year, Postmedia had a net profit of $ 13 million. A loss of $ 22.8 million from a prior restructuring was not repeated in the third quarter of this year.
The third quarter loss also included an impairment charge of $ 9.4 million, more than twice the $ 4.2 million. Excluding impairment charges, other non-cash charges and restructuring charges, Postmedia's operating expenses decreased by $ 15.9 million or 9.3% from last year. , or $ 13 million if an Ontario tax credit is Postmedia's director of operations, Andrew MacLeod, said during the conference call that the company was not abandoning its printing business because it "plays an important role in creating brands and raising awareness.
"But the nature of what people come to us has changed," said MacLeod. "This requires that our people adapt to the radical change we are facing by engaging new strategies."
He said in an interview after the call that part of Postmedia's multi-pin digital strategy must coexist with Google and Facebook. Turning to advertisers as experts by combining advertising, Internet search and social media campaigns. Later, MacLeod added that Postmedia was looking for ways to "earn more money" from its audiences. Advertisers "can target the right audience, with the right message at the right time."
He adds that Postmedia could hire outside writers to produce "sponsored content" if an advertiser shows interest "but it will never be one of our reporters"
"To be crystal clear and absolutely free ambiguity, an editorial determines what to cover and how to cover it, and it does not depend on a business purpose, "says MacLeod. In 2016, MacLeod announced an unusual strategic collaboration with Mogo Finance Technology – a digital financial brand – that has traded at least $ 50 million worth of "media value" over three years for a share of Mogo's revenue and the opportunity for Postmedia to buy shares. Mogo
This agreement – which was extended for two years in May 2018 – was a model for other Postmedia transactions, including with the Indochino clothing chain
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