PTZ Pulitzer

Pulitzer Inc. Reports Tenth-Period Revenue for Five Weeks Ended October 31, 2004 ST. LOUIS, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pulitzer Inc. (NYSE:PTZ) today announced that revenue increased 5.6 percent for the five-week accounting period ended October 31, 2004 and 5.5 percent for the forty-four- week year-to-date period when compared to the respective 2003 periods. October 2004 advertising revenue in St. Louis and at the 12 Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. ("PNI") markets increased 5.4 percent, with increases of 3.3 percent at the St. Louis operations and 10.7 percent at PNI. On a comparable basis, excluding the results of PNI acquisitions absent in the comparable periods of 2004 and 2003, total revenue increased 5.1 percent for the five-week period ended October 31, 2004 and increased 4.7 percent for the forty-four-week year-to-date period. Total comparable advertising revenue increased 4.9 percent for the five-week period ended October 31, 2004 and increased 5.5 percent for the forty-four-week year-to-date period. Tenth- period 2004 comparable advertising revenue increased 3.3 percent at the St. Louis operations and 8.8 percent at PNI. Comparable advertising revenue increased 4.1 percent at the St. Louis operations and 9.2 percent at PNI for the forty-four-week year-to-date period. The principal components of the tenth-period comparable advertising revenue results for St. Louis and PNI were: -- Comparable retail advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 5.2 percent. Comparable retail ROP revenue increased 2.7 percent, principally due to gains in the political, specialty stores, and home improvement categories and advertising associated with the St. Louis Cardinals post-season baseball performance. Local territory revenues increased 16.0 percent in St. Louis. These gains were partially offset by weakness in the department stores and entertainment categories, as well as in the grocery category, which cycled against significant strike-related advertising last October in St. Louis. Comparable retail ROP revenue increased 1.3 percent in St. Louis and increased 5.5 percent at PNI. Comparable retail preprint revenue increased 14.9 percent in St. Louis and 1.5 percent at PNI. -- Comparable tenth-period national advertising revenue, including preprints, decreased 1.8 percent versus 2003, principally due to weakness in the healthcare, telecommunication, and pharmaceutical categories, partially offset by gains in the financial segment. Comparable national preprint revenue increased 5.2 percent for the period and comparable national ROP revenue decreased 2.9 percent. Comparable national advertising revenue, including preprints, decreased 1.5 percent in St. Louis and 7.7 percent at PNI. -- Comparable tenth-period classified revenue increased 6.3 percent versus 2003. Comparable Classified Advertising Revenue Percentage Change 2004 Versus 2003 Total Pulitzer, including Tucson Tucson Total Newspaper Newspaper PERIOD 10 St. Louis PNI Pulitzer Agency Agency Help Wanted 10.1% 27.4% 14.3% 17.5% 14.7% Automotive (5.1%) (5.0%) (5.1%) 14.1% (2.9%) Real Estate 3.6% 29.0% 11.2% (0.2%) 10.3% Total Classified Revenue 2.1% 18.0% 6.3% 8.9% 6.6% 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 9.7% 32.8% 14.9% 30.9% 16.8% Automotive 3.6% 1.4% 3.1% 8.6% 3.7% Real Estate 7.4% 18.9% 10.8% (3.1%) 9.5% Total Classified Revenue 6.7% 16.4% 9.2% 12.1% 9.5% October 2004 revenue associated with the Company's 50 percent interest in the Tucson Newspaper Agency ("TNI") increased 5.7 percent and total advertising revenue increased 6.4 percent. TNI retail revenue, including preprints, increased 3.3 percent, with a 1.1 percent decrease in retail ROP and a 15.3 percent increase in retail preprint revenue. Local territory revenues increased 14.1 percent for the period. TNI national revenue, including preprints, increased 29.0 percent with strong ROP performance. October classified revenue increased 8.9 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, Wis. 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 44 44 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended Oct. 31, Nov. 2, Oct. 31, Nov. 2, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change (Note 3) (Note 3) Consolidated Operating Revenue (Note 1): Advertising: Retail $12,847 $12,413 3.5% $101,701 $ 97,413 4.4% National 3,089 3,181 (2.9%) 21,778 23,949 (9.1%) Classified 13,397 12,533 6.9% 116,780 105,851 10.3% Total 29,333 28,127 4.3% 240,259 227,213 5.7% Preprints 6,937 6,282 10.4% 54,954 50,305 9.2% Total Advertising 36,270 34,409 5.4% 295,213 277,518 6.4% Circulation 7,982 7,710 3.5% 69,101 68,033 1.6% Other 913 644 41.8% 6,369 5,808 9.7% Total $45,165 $42,763 5.6% $370,683 $351,359 5.5% Operating Revenue of Consolidated Subsidiaries: St. Louis Operations (Note 2): Advertising $25,471 $24,652 3.3% $208,765 $200,638 4.1% Circulation 5,987 5,688 5.3% 51,598 50,434 2.3% Other 466 205 127.3% 2,128 1,405 51.5% Total $31,924 $30,545 4.5% $262,491 $252,477 4.0% Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. Advertising $10,799 $9,757 10.7% $86,448 $76,880 12.4% Circulation 1,995 2,022 (1.3%) 17,503 17,599 (0.5%) Other 447 439 1.8% 4,241 4,403 (3.7%) Total $13,241 $12,218 8.4% $108,192 $ 98,882 9.4% Operating Revenue of Unconsolidated Newspaper Joint Venture: Pulitzer's 50% share of Tucson Newspaper Agency: Advertising $4,404 $4,139 6.4% $36,331 $34,635 4.9% Circulation 1,088 1,087 0.1% 9,580 9,663 (0.9%) Other 67 31 116.1% 456 379 20.3% Total $5,559 $5,257 5.7% $46,367 $44,677 3.8% Note 1 Year-to-year comparisons are affected by acquisitions of weekly newspapers, shoppers, and niche publications 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: Five Weeks 44 Weeks Comparable Change Comparable Change Total Total Pulitzer PNI Pulitzer PNI Advertising Revenue 4.9% 8.8% 5.5% 9.2% Total Revenue 5.1% 6.6% 4.7% 6.6% 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 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 44 44 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended Oct. 31, Nov. 2, Oct. 31, Nov. 2, 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 76.2 87.6 (13.0%) 615.2 630.5 (2.4%) National 19.8 21.3 (7.0%) 143.8 163.3 (11.9%) Classified 98.0 96.5 1.6% 842.1 870.0 (3.2%) Total 194.0 205.4 (5.6%) 1,601.1 1,663.8 (3.8%) Part run (Retail/ Classified) 45.4 49.7 (8.7%) 417.3 409.8 1.8% Total Inches 239.4 255.1 (6.2%) 2,018.4 2,073.6 (2.7%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star/Citizen advertising inches Full run (all zones) Retail 136.3 142.9 (4.6%) 1,192.2 1,236.2 (3.6%) National 8.1 10.6 (23.5%) 61.0 76.1 (19.8%) Classified 168.1 155.3 8.3% 1,428.7 1,327.4 7.6% Total 312.5 308.7 1.2% 2,681.9 2,639.7 1.6% Part run (Retail/ Classified) (Note 3) 2.6 2.9 (8.3%) 18.4 25.4 (27.6%) Total Inches 315.1 311.6 1.1% 2,700.3 2,665.1 1.3% Circulation (Note 4): Year-to-Date Period Average Average 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change ST. LOUIS POST- DISPATCH: Daily 299,482 285,000 5.1% 299,482 285,000 5.1% Sunday 453,644 448,805 1.1% 453,644 448,805 1.1% COMBINED PULITZER NEWSPAPERS, INC.: Daily 199,292 193,047 3.2% 190,919 190,633 0.2% Sunday 191,730 190,053 0.9% 188,963 190,190 (0.6%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star Daily 111,202 103,347 7.6% 105,609 103,098 2.4% Citizen Daily 31,289 32,253 (3.0%) 31,108 33,565 (7.3%) Combined Daily 142,491 135,600 5.1% 136,717 136,663 0.0% Star Sunday 167,236 169,844 (1.5%) 167,839 169,942 (1.2%) Online Page Views (in thousands): Five Five 44 44 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended Oct. 31, Nov. 2, Oct. 31, Nov. 2, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change (Note 3) (Note 3) St. Louis 44,591 29,126 53.1% 329,555 210,083 56.9% Combined PNI Web sites 9,364 8,031 16.6% 90,235 74,599 21.0% Combined Tucson Web sites 7,254 6,739 7.6% 66,231 66,338 (0.2%) Totals 61,209 43,895 39.4% 486,021 351,020 38.5% 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

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