Glacier halts dividends

Photo: Contributed - Glacier Media

Glacier Media says it has decided to stop paying dividends to conserve cash as it continues to endure blows from a drop in traditional print advertising.

The Vancouver-based media company says it will focus more on areas it believes has growth, such as agriculture, real estate and energy and mining publications.

Glacier had been paying out about $1.8 million per quarter in dividends, or two cents per share. In the second quarter ended June 30, its cash flow from operations fell to $11.8 million or 13 cents per share, from $14.9 million or 17 cents per share.

Glacier has shut down a number of publications, including the Kamloops Daily News in British Columbia last year and the La Ronge Northerner, a newspaper in northern Saskatchewan.

The news came as Glacier reported its second quarter results showing revenue of $70.9 million, down from $77.6 million in the same period a year earlier.

For the quarter ended June 30, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $9.8 million, a drop from $14.2 million last year.

Earnings per share were 11 cents, a decline of five cents from a year ago.