PTZ Pulitzer

Pulitzer Inc. Reports Seventh-Period Revenue For Five Weeks Ended August 1, 2004 ST. LOUIS, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pulitzer Inc. (NYSE:PTZ) today announced that revenue increased 8.1 percent for the five-week accounting period ended August 1, 2004 and increased 5.5 percent for the thirty-one-week year-to-date period when compared to the respective 2003 periods. July 2004 advertising revenue in St. Louis and at the 12 Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. ("PNI") markets increased 9.9 percent, with increases of 9.1 percent at the St. Louis operations and 11.8 percent at PNI. On a comparable basis, excluding the results of PNI acquisitions absent in the comparable periods of 2003, total revenue increased 7.3 percent for the five-week period ended August 1, 2004 and increased 4.7 percent for the thirty-one-week year-to-date period. Total comparable advertising revenue increased 9.0 percent for the five-week period ended August 1, 2004 and increased 5.7 percent for the thirty-one-week year-to-date period. Seventh- period 2004 comparable advertising revenue increased 9.1 percent at the St. Louis operations and 8.6 percent at PNI. Comparable advertising revenue increased 4.4 percent at the St. Louis operations and 8.9 percent at PNI for the thirty-one- week year-to-date period. The principal components of the seventh-period comparable advertising revenue results for St. Louis and PNI were: -- Comparable retail advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 7.7 percent. Comparable retail ROP revenue increased 5.2 percent, principally due to gains in the grocery, financial and education segments, as well as gains in local territory revenue, which increased 19.6 percent in St. Louis. These gains were partially offset by weakness in the department store, entertainment and furniture categories. Comparable retail ROP revenue increased 5.3 percent in St. Louis and increased 5.0 percent at PNI. Comparable retail preprint revenue increased 18.9 percent in St. Louis and 2.1 percent at PNI. -- Comparable seventh-period national advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 9.7 percent versus 2003, principally due to strong schedules in the national automotive category and increased preprint revenue. These gains were partially offset by weakness in the health, pharmaceutical and travel categories. ROP revenue decreased 4.9 percent. Comparable national advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 9.6 percent in St. Louis and 11.8 percent at PNI. -- Comparable seventh-period classified revenue increased 10.4 percent versus 2003, with growth in all major categories. Comparable Classified Advertising Revenue Percentage Change 2004 Versus 2003 Total Pulitzer, including Tucson Tucson Total Newspaper Newspaper PERIOD 7 St. Louis PNI Pulitzer Agency Agency Help Wanted 15.6% 33.8% 20.0% 17.5% 19.7% Automotive 8.1% 1.2% 6.6% 21.0% 8.3% Real Estate 5.6% 16.6% 9.1% (2.8%) 8.1% Total Classified Revenue 8.5% 15.6% 10.4% 12.7% 10.6% Comparable Classified Advertising Revenue Percentage Change 2004 Versus 2003 Total Pulitzer, including Tucson Tucson Total Newspaper Newspaper Year-to-date St. Louis PNI Pulitzer Agency Agency Help Wanted 9.6% 32.4% 14.6% 36.4% 17.2% Automotive 8.5% 4.4% 7.5% 6.5% 7.4% Real Estate 8.1% 18.0% 10.9% (4.4%) 9.5% Total Classified Revenue 8.0% 16.1% 10.0% 13.3% 10.4% July 2004 revenue associated with the Company's 50 percent interest in the Tucson Newspaper Agency ("TNI") increased 5.6 percent and total advertising revenue increased 7.4 percent. TNI retail revenue, including preprints, increased 2.5 percent with a 1.4 percent decrease in retail ROP offset by an 13.4 percent increase in retail preprint revenue. Local territory revenues increased 14.2 percent for the period. TNI national revenue, including preprints, increased 31.0 percent. July classified revenue increased 12.7 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) Five Five 31 31 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended Aug. 1, Aug. 3, Aug. 1, Aug. 3, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change (Note 3) (Note 3) Consolidated Operating Revenue (Note 1): Advertising: Retail $10,938 $10,266 6.5% $ 69,763 $ 66,803 4.4% National 2,040 2,146 (4.9%) 15,141 16,503 (8.3%) Classified 13,639 12,244 11.4% 81,396 73,096 11.4% Total 26,617 24,656 8.0% 166,300 156,402 6.3% Preprints 5,931 4,953 19.7% 37,315 34,488 8.2% Total Advertising 32,548 29,609 9.9% 203,615 190,890 6.7% Circulation 7,656 7,534 1.6% 48,688 48,027 1.4% Other 544 566 (3.9%) 4,233 4,136 2.3% Total $40,748 $37,709 8.1% $256,536 $243,053 5.5% Operating Revenue of Consolidated Subsidiaries: St. Louis Operations (Note 2): Advertising $22,963 $21,039 9.1% $144,556 $138,423 4.4% Circulation 5,710 5,587 2.2% 36,350 35,641 2.0% Other 154 143 7.7% 1,192 946 26.0% Total $28,827 $26,769 7.7% $182,098 $175,010 4.1% Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. Advertising $ 9,585 $ 8,570 11.8% $ 59,059 $ 52,467 12.6% Circulation 1,946 1,947 (0.1%) 12,338 12,386 (0.4%) Other 390 423 (7.8%) 3,041 3,190 (4.7%) Total $11,921 $10,940 9.0% $ 74,438 68,043 9.4% Operating Revenue of Unconsolidated Newspaper Joint Venture: Pulitzer's 50% share of Tucson Newspaper Agency: Advertising $ 3,871 $ 3,603 7.4% $ 25,233 $ 24,408 3.4% Circulation 1,008 1,025 (1.7%) 6,829 6,899 (1.0%) Other 56 47 19.1% 263 300 (12.3%) Total $ 4,935 $ 4,675 5.6% $ 32,325 $ 31,607 2.3% Note 1 Year-to-year comparisons are affected by acquisitions of weekly newspapers within the last 12 months 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 31 Weeks Comparable Change Comparable Change Total Total Pulitzer PNI Pulitzer PNI Advertising Revenue 9.0% 8.6% 5.7% 8.9% Total Revenue 7.3% 6.2% 4.7% 6.3% 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 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 Five Five 31 31 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended Aug. 1, Aug. 3, Aug. 1, Aug. 3, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change (Note 3) (Note 3) Advertising Linage (in thousands of inches) ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Advertising Inches Full run (all zones) Retail 62.2 64.2 (3.1%) 407.4 422.0 (3.5%) National 13.1 15.3 (14.4%) 101.2 114.4 (11.5%) Classified 98.6 100.1 (1.5%) 586.6 605.6 (3.1%) Total 173.9 179.6 (3.2%) 1,095.2 1,142.0 (4.1%) Part run (Retail/ Classified) 50.8 46.3 9.7% 327.9 285.0 15.1% Total Inches 224.7 225.9 (0.5%) 1,423.1 1,427.0 (0.3%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star/Citizen advertising inches Full run (all zones) Retail 122.3 125.0 (2.2%) 847.1 883.2 (4.1%) National 4.6 7.0 (34.3%) 43.7 54.6 (20.0%) Classified 173.2 151.4 14.4% 998.3 928.5 7.5% Total 300.1 283.4 5.9% 1,889.1 1,866.3 1.2% Part run (Retail/ Classified) 4.7 6.8 (30.9%) 28.8 43.1 (33.2%) Total Inches 304.8 290.2 5.0% 1,917.9 1,909.4 0.4% Circulation (Note 4): Year-to-Date Period Average Average 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Daily 283,727 279,543 1.5% 282,250 286,352 (1.4%) Sunday 441,801 444,024 (0.5%) 452,430 463,665 (2.4%) COMBINED PULITZER NEWSPAPERS, INC.: Daily 186,742 184,428 1.3% 190,714 190,834 (0.1%) Sunday 186,110 188,379 (1.2%) 188,172 190,223 (1.1%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star Daily 92,271 93,835 (1.7%) 105,704 104,390 1.3% Citizen Daily 28,164 31,645 (11.0%) 31,276 34,286 (8.8%) Combined Daily 120,435 125,480 (4.0%) 136,980 138,676 (1.2%) Star Sunday 155,751 158,446 (1.7%) 169,771 171,882 (1.2%) Online Page Views (in thousands) Five Five 31 31 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended Aug. 1, Aug. 3, Aug. 1, Aug. 3, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 (Note 3) (Note 3) Change St. Louis 35,980 22,893 57.2% 222,277 139,609 59.2% Combined PNI Web sites 8,888 7,593 17.1% 61,892 50,999 21.4% Combined Tucson Web sites 6,290 7,500 (16.1%) 45,190 47,062 (4.0%) Totals 51,158 37,986 34.7% 329,359 237,670 38.6% Note 4 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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