PTZ Pulitzer

Pulitzer Inc. Reports Third-Period Revenue for Four Weeks Ended March 28, 2004 ST. LOUIS, April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pulitzer Inc. today announced that revenue increased 7.3 percent for the four-week accounting period ended March 28, 2004 and increased 4.6 percent for the thirteen-week year-to-date period when compared to the respective 2003 periods. March 2004 advertising revenue in St. Louis and at the 12 Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. ("PNI") markets increased 9.7 percent, with increases of 8.3 percent at the St. Louis operations and 13.3 percent at PNI. On a comparable basis, excluding the results of PNI acquisitions absent in the comparable period of 2003, total revenue increased 6.4 percent for the four-week period ended March 28, 2004 and increased 3.8 percent for the thirteen-week year-to-date periods. Total comparable advertising revenue increased 8.6 percent for the four-week period ended March 28, 2004 and increased 4.6 percent for the thirteen-week year-to-date period. March 2004 comparable advertising revenue increased 8.3 percent at the St. Louis operations and 9.2 percent at PNI. Comparable advertising revenue increased 3.6 percent at the St. Louis operations and 7.4 percent at PNI for the thirteen-week year-to-date period. The principal components of the third-period comparable advertising revenue results for St. Louis and PNI were: -- Comparable retail advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 4.3 percent. Comparable retail ROP revenue increased 3.4 percent, principally due to strength in the grocery, entertainment, furniture, home improvement and electronic categories, as well as gains in local territory revenue, which increased 20.6 percent in St. Louis. These gains were partially offset by weakness in the department store segment. Comparable St. Louis and PNI retail ROP revenue increased 4.9 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. Comparable retail preprint revenue increased 6.0 percent in St. Louis and 6.4 percent at PNI. -- Comparable national advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 10.9 percent versus the comparable 2003 period, principally due to strength in the automotive category, particularly in St. Louis. Comparable national preprint revenue increased 64.4 percent for the period and comparable national ROP revenue increased 3.3 percent. Comparable national advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 8.4 percent in St. Louis and 73.7 percent at PNI. -- Comparable classified revenue increased 14.1 percent from last year, with growth in all major categories. Comparable Classified Advertising Revenue Percentage change 2004 versus 2003 PERIOD 3 Total Total Pulitzer, St. Louis PNI Pulitzer TNI including TNI Help Wanted 12.6% 35.4% 17.5% 47.6% 20.8% Automotive 14.2% 9.7% 13.1% 2.4% 11.7% Real Estate 13.6% 20.6% 15.4% 8.5% 14.7% Total classified revenue 12.2% 19.8% 14.1% 14.7% 14.2% Comparable Classified Advertising Revenue Percentage change 2004 versus 2003 Year-to-date Total Total Pulitzer, St. Louis PNI Pulitzer TNI including TNI Help Wanted 6.3% 28.1% 10.8% 36.5% 13.7% Automotive 7.0% 3.3% 6.2% 1.5% 5.6% Real Estate 10.3% 18.7% 12.6% 0.8% 11.5% Total classified revenue 7.8% 14.7% 9.5% 9.5% 9.5% March 2004 revenue associated with the Company's 50 percent interest in the Tucson Newspaper Agency ("TNI") decreased 1.4 percent, and total advertising revenue decreased 0.7 percent. TNI retail revenue, including preprints, decreased 7.5 percent with a 13.6 percent decrease in retail ROP partially offset by a 14.9 percent increase in retail preprint revenue. Local territory revenues decreased 14.3 percent for the period. TNI national revenue, including preprints, decreased 26.0 percent due to weakness in the pharmaceutical segment. March classified revenue increased 14.7 percent. Pulitzer Inc., through various subsidiaries and affiliated entities, is engaged in newspaper publishing and related new media activities. The Company's newspaper operations include two major metropolitan dailies, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, Ariz., and, through its Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. (PNI) subsidiary, 12 other dailies and more than 65 weekly newspapers, shoppers and niche publications. The PNI dailies are The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.; The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah; the Santa Maria Times, Santa Maria, Calif.; The Napa Valley Register, Napa, Calif.; The World, Coos Bay, Ore.; The Sentinel, Hanford, Calif.; the Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, Ariz.; The Daily Chronicle, DeKalb, Ill.; The Garden Island, Lihue, Hawaii; the Daily Journal, Park Hills, Mo.; The Lompoc Record, Lompoc, Calif.; and The Daily News, Rhinelander, Wisc. The Company's newspaper operations also include the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, a group of 38 weekly papers and various niche publications. The Company's new media and interactive initiatives include STLtoday.com in St. Louis, azstarnet.com in Tucson, and Web sites for all of its other dailies. Pulitzer Inc. is the successor to the company originally founded by Joseph Pulitzer in St. Louis in 1878. For further information, visit our Web site at http://www.pulitzerinc.com/. NOTES: Statements in this press release concerning the Company's business outlook or future economic performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses or other financial items, together with other statements that are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, industry cyclicality, the seasonal nature of the business, changes in pricing or other actions by competitors or suppliers (including newsprint), outcome of labor negotiations, capital or similar requirements, and general economic conditions, any of which may impact advertising and circulation revenues and various types of expenses, as well as other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in "forward-looking statements" are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such "forward-looking statements," and the Company disclaims any obligation to update the information contained herein or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to such "forward-looking statements" to reflect future events or developments. PULITZER INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES PERIOD REVENUE AND STATISTICAL REPORT (Revenue in thousands--Unaudited) Four Four 13 13 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended Mar. 28, Mar. 30, Mar. 28, Mar. 30, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change (Note 4) (Note 4) Consolidated Operating Revenue (Note 1): Advertising: Retail $ 9,207 $ 8,805 4.6% $ 27,829 $ 26,560 4.8% National 2,211 2,141 3.3% 6,161 6,821 (9.7%) Classified 10,517 9,086 15.7% 32,247 29,086 10.9% Total 21,935 20,032 9.5% 66,237 62,467 6.0% Preprints 5,122 4,639 10.4% 14,218 13,732 3.5% Total Advertising 27,057 24,671 9.7% 80,455 76,199 5.6% Circulation 6,328 6,282 0.7% 20,568 20,196 1.8% Other 499 616 (19.0%) 1,712 1,837 (6.8%) Total $33,884 $31,569 7.3% $102,735 $ 98,232 4.6% Operating Revenue of Consolidated Subsidiaries: St. Louis Operations (Note 2): Advertising (Note 3): $19,434 $17,944 8.3% $ 57,545 $ 55,546 3.6% Circulation 4,731 4,650 1.7% 15,388 14,958 2.9% Other 79 149 (47.0%) 449 445 0.9% Total $24,244 $22,743 6.6% $ 73,382 $ 70,949 3.4% Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. Advertising (Note 3): $ 7,623 $ 6,727 13.3% $ 22,910 $ 20,653 10.9% Circulation 1,597 1,632 (2.1%) 5,180 5,238 (1.1%) Other 420 467 (10.1%) 1,263 1,392 (9.3%) Total $ 9,640 $ 8,826 9.2% $ 29,353 $ 27,283 7.6% Operating Revenue of Unconsolidated Newspaper Joint Venture: Pulitzer's 50% share of Tucson Newspaper Agency: Advertising (Note 3): $ 3,332 $ 3,357 (0.7%) $ 10,378 $ 10,573 (1.8%) Circulation 937 941 (0.4%) 3,028 3,048 (0.7%) Other 26 58 (55.2%) 117 124 (5.6%) Total $ 4,295 $ 4,356 (1.4%) $ 13,523 $ 13,745 (1.6%) Note 1 Year-to-year comparisons are affected by prior-year weekly newspaper acquisitions that complement the Company's newspapers in several markets. On a comparable basis, excluding the impact of the acquisitions for comparable ownership periods in each year, advertising and total revenues would have increased as follows: Four Weeks 13 Weeks Comparable Change Comparable Change Total Total Pulitzer PNI Pulitzer PNI Advertising Revenue 8.6% 9.2% 4.6% 7.4% Total Revenue 6.4% 5.8% 3.8% 4.6% Note 2 Includes revenues of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, St. Louis e-media operations, and STL Distribution Services. Note 3 For the four-week and year-to-date periods ended March 28, 2004, classified employment advertising revenue in St. Louis, including STLtoday.com, increased 12.6 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively. At PNI, comparable classified employment advertising revenue, excluding the impact of acquisitions for comparable ownership periods in each year, increased 35.4 percent and 28.1 percent for the four-week and year-to-date periods, respectively. At the Tucson Newspaper Agency, classified employment advertising revenue increased 47.6 percent and 36.5 percent for the four-week and year-to-date periods, respectively. Note 4 Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2003 financial statements and statistical data to conform with the presentation made in 2004. PULITZER INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES PERIOD REVENUE AND STATISTICAL REPORT SELECTED STATISTICAL INFORMATION Four Four 13 13 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended Mar. 28, Mar. 30, Mar. 28, Mar. 30, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change (Note 4) (Note 4) Advertising Linage (in thousands of inches) ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Advertising Inches Full run (all zones) Retail 56.5 56.4 0.2% 172.3 168.5 2.2% General 14.6 15.8 (7.6%) 42.0 47.6 (11.7%) Classified 74.8 77.0 (2.8%) 229.6 243.3 (5.6%) Total 145.9 149.2 (2.2%) 443.8 459.3 (3.4%) Part run (Retail/ Classified) 35.7 36.8 (2.9%) 130.4 109.9 18.6% Total Inches 181.6 186.0 (2.3%) 574.2 569.2 0.9% TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star/Citizen advertising inches Full run (all zones) Retail 116.5 119.4 (2.4%) 363.0 378.9 (4.2%) General 7.0 6.4 9.4% 21.7 23.9 (9.1%) Classified 131.8 123.8 6.5% 393.8 385.8 2.1% Total 255.3 249.6 2.3% 778.5 788.6 (1.3%) Part run (Retail/ Classified) 3.2 5.8 (44.8%) 12.9 18.7 (31.0%) Total Inches 258.5 255.4 1.2% 791.4 807.3 (2.0%) Year-to-Date Period Average Average 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change Circulation (Note 5): ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Daily 283,201 303,719 (6.8%) 281,339 286,760 (1.9%) Sunday 461,651 471,719 (2.1%) 454,998 467,773 (2.7%) COMBINED PULITZER NEWSPAPERS, INC.: Daily 190,904 192,727 (0.9%) 189,609 190,533 (0.5%) Sunday 188,193 191,328 (1.6%) 188,114 191,039 (1.5%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star Daily 113,773 112,274 1.3% 113,365 111,508 1.7% Citizen Daily 33,273 37,069 (10.2%) 33,107 36,046 (8.2%) Combined Daily 147,046 149,343 (1.5%) 146,472 147,554 (0.7%) Star Sunday 179,442 182,252 (1.5%) 180,077 182,870 (1.5%) Four Four 13 13 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended Mar. 28, Mar. 30, Mar. 28, Mar. 30, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 (Note 4) (Note 4) Change Online Page Views (in thousands) St. Louis 30,251 18,442 64.0% 95,714 57,269 67.1% Combined PNI Web sites 9,554 7,522 27.0% 26,251 21,565 21.7% Combined Tucson Web sites: 7,030 6,923 1.5% 20,340 19,653 3.5% Note 5 Year-to-date circulation levels represent averages (unaudited) for the current ABC annual audit periods ending September 30 and December 31 for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Tucson Newspaper Agency, respectively. Year-to- date PNI amounts represent combined averages (unaudited) for the annual periods ending December 31. DATASOURCE: Pulitzer Inc. CONTACT: James V. Maloney, Director of Shareholder Relations, of Pulitzer Inc., +1-314-340-8402 Web site: http://www.pulitzerinc.com/

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