McClatchy reports lower 2nd-quarter net income, pace of revenue decline slows

McClatchy 2Q earnings drop; ad trends improve

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. said Thursday its second-quarter net income dropped sharply from last year’s results that were boosted by a gain from debt restructuring.

But the company said advertising trends are improving and its revenue declined at a slower rate than in the first quarter. Shares advanced in morning trading.

McClatchy Co. earned $7.3 million, or 9 cents per share, down from $42.2 million, or 50 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings, which exclude restructuring charges and other unusual items, were 10 cents per share.

The quarter’s revenue fell 6 percent to $342 million from $365.3 million. This was a smaller drop than the 8 percent drop the company saw in the first three months of the year.

Advertising revenue declined 8.2 percent, compared with an 11.2 percent decline in the first quarter and a 20.5 percent drop in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Chairman and CEO Gary Pruitt said McClatchy was “encouraged by improving trends” in the second quarter, as ad revenue declined at a slower pace in each of the three months of April-June period.

The company expects ad revenue trends to continue to improve in the current quarter. It sees advertising revenue declining in the mid-single digits in the third quarter.

Sacramento, Calif.-based McClatchy publishes The Sacramento Bee, The Miami Herald and other newspapers. Its shares climbed 13 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $3.85 in morning trading.