A. H. Belo Posts Wider 1Q Loss, Hurt By Charges

DALLAS (AP) — Newspaper company A. H. Belo Corp., which publishes the Dallas Morning News, posted a first-quarter loss Monday, hurt by declining advertising revenue and a large impairment charge on the Providence Journal.

The company reported a loss of $103.1 million, or $5.03 per share, sharply wider than its loss of $8.7 million, or 43 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

The latest quarter's results included a $3.93 per share charge for goodwill impairment and 19 cents per share related to job cuts the company announced in January, which affected about 500 employees. Excluding items, the quarter's loss was 91 cents per share.

Revenue fell 20 percent to $128.5 million from $160.2 million.

"A. H. Belo continues to face significant revenue challenges in 2009," said Robert W. Decherd, chairman, president and chief executive, in a statement. "Lower advertising revenues require us to continue to focus on expense reductions and operational realignment."

The company expects to save about $27 million in salaries and benefits each year because of the job cuts.

Advertising revenue, including print and Internet revenue, declined 28 percent, mainly because of lower classifieds revenue in all the company's markets. Internet revenue, which accounted for about 7 percent of total sales, declined 24 percent from a year earlier to $9.3 million.

Shares rose 9 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $1.77 in morning trading. The stock has traded between 59 cents and $9.60 in the past 52 weeks.