McClatchy, owner of The Star, reports a first-quarter loss

The McClatchy Co., which owns The Kansas City Star, on Friday reported a first-quarter loss of $11.3 million, or 13 cents a share, down from a year-ago net loss of $16.1 million, or 19 cents a share, from continuing operations.

Total revenue in the quarter was $257.2 million, down 6.9 percent from a year ago. Overall ad revenues were $151.2 million, down 13.9 percent. But digital-only ad revenue was up 3.1 percent and up 4.4 percent excluding revenue from Apartments.com, which has been sold. Audience revenue was $93.2 million, up 4.8 percent.

Pat Talamantes, McClatchy’s president and CEO, said in the company’s earnings release that McClatchy’s “expense performance” improved from recent quarters.

“Our cost initiatives are focused on reducing legacy costs,” he said, “primarily in production and distribution, including substantial savings in newsprint costs.”

He also noted interest costs dropped by $11.1 million in the quarter and are expected to be down $40 million for all of 2015. In the fourth quarter of 2014, the company reduced its debt by $523 million, leaving about $1 billion in outstanding debt.

McClatchy, headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., operates media companies in 28 markets in 14 states. Besides The Star, its news sites and newspapers include The Wichita Eagle, The Star-Telegram in Fort Worth, The Miami Herald and The Charlotte Observer.

This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 8:04 PM with the headline "McClatchy, owner of The Star, reports a first-quarter loss."