Postmedia profit slides

Photo: The Canadian Press

Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey 

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. reported a profit of $5.8 million in its latest quarter as it said revenue fell 10.3 per cent compared with a year earlier.

The media company says the profit amounted to six cents per share for the quarter ended Nov. 30 compared with a profit of $17.8 million or 10 cents per share a year ago when it benefited from a gain on debt settlement.

Revenue for what was the first quarter of the company's financial year totalled $189 million, compared with $210.8 million a year ago as a drop in print revenue more than offset gains on the digital side.

Print advertising revenue fell 17.9 per cent and print circulation revenue dropped 6.1 per cent, while digital revenue increased 14.5 per cent in the quarter with digital advertising revenue up 17.3 per cent.

Total operating expenses excluding depreciation, amortization, impairment and restructuring decreased $26.0 million or 13.6 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier due to cost reduction initiatives.

In November, Postmedia and Torstar Corp. announced they would trade 41 newspapers and close 36 of them, mainly in Ontario regions served by multiple publications, at a cost of nearly 300 jobs.