PTZ Pulitzer

Pulitzer Inc. Reports Fourth-Period Revenue for Five Weeks Ended May 2, 2004 ST. LOUIS, May 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pulitzer Inc. today announced that revenue increased 4.8 percent for the five-week accounting period ended May 2, 2004 and increased 4.6 percent for the eighteen-week year-to-date period when compared to the respective 2003 periods. April 2004 advertising revenue in St. Louis and at the 12 Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. ("PNI") markets increased 5.4 percent, with increases of 2.3 percent at the St. Louis operations and 14.0 percent at PNI. On a comparable basis, excluding the results of PNI acquisitions absent in the comparable periods of 2003, total revenue increased 3.9 percent for the five-week period ended May 2, 2004 and increased 3.8 percent for the eighteen- week year-to-date period. Total comparable advertising revenue increased 4.5 percent for the five-week period ended May 2, 2004 and increased 4.6 percent for the eighteen-week year-to-date period. April 2004 comparable advertising revenue increased 2.3 percent at the St. Louis operations and 10.5 percent at PNI. Comparable advertising revenue increased 3.2 percent at the St. Louis operations and 8.3 percent at PNI for the eighteen-week year-to-date period. The principal components of the fourth-period comparable advertising revenue results for St. Louis and PNI were: -- Comparable retail advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 2.9 percent. Comparable retail ROP revenue increased 1.0 percent, principally due to strength in the grocery, entertainment, and furniture categories, as well as gains in local territory revenue, which increased 7.4 percent in St. Louis. These gains were partially offset by weakness in the department store, home improvement, and electronic segments. Comparable St. Louis and PNI retail ROP revenue decreased 1.4 percent and increased 6.0 percent, respectively. Comparable retail preprint revenue increased 7.9 percent in St. Louis and 3.9 percent at PNI. -- Comparable national advertising revenue, including preprints, decreased 10.4 percent versus the comparable 2003 period, principally due to weakness in the pharmaceutical and telecommunication categories, particularly in St. Louis. Comparable national preprint revenue decreased 9.2 percent for the period and comparable national ROP revenue decreased 10.7 percent. Comparable national advertising revenue, including preprints, decreased 13.7 percent in St. Louis and increased 65.9 percent at PNI. -- Comparable classified revenue increased 10.8 percent, with growth in all major categories. Comparable Classified Advertising Revenue Percentage Change 2004 Versus 2003 Total Pulitzer, including Tucson Tucson Total Newspaper Newspaper PERIOD 4 St. Louis PNI Pulitzer Agency Agency Help Wanted 6.7% 36.5% 13.2% 59.2% 18.2% Automotive 13.5% 10.1% 12.7% 16.3% 13.1% Real Estate 5.8% 16.9% 8.8% (5.1%) 7.6% Total Classified Revenue 8.4% 18.0% 10.8% 22.6% 12.0% 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 6.4% 30.7% 11.5% 42.6% 15.0% Automotive 8.8% 5.1% 7.9% 5.3% 7.6% Real Estate 9.0% 18.2% 11.5% (0.9%) 10.3% Total Classified Revenue 7.9% 15.7% 9.9% 13.0% 10.2% April 2004 revenue associated with the Company's 50 percent interest in the Tucson Newspaper Agency ("TNI") increased 5.2 percent, and total advertising revenue increased 6.9 percent. TNI retail revenue, including preprints, decreased 1.7 percent with a 14.1 percent decrease in retail ROP partially offset by a 41.2 percent increase in retail preprint revenue. Local territory revenues decreased 4.7 percent for the period. TNI national revenue, including preprints, increased 7.5 percent. April classified revenue increased 22.6 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 18 18 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended May 2, May 4, May 2, May 4, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change (Note 3) (Note 3) Consolidated Operating Revenue (Note 1): Advertising: Retail $12,130 $11,875 2.1% $ 39,959 $ 38,435 4.0% National 2,291 2,566 (10.7%) 8,452 9,387 (10.0%) Classified 13,308 11,871 12.1% 45,555 40,957 11.2% Total 27,729 26,312 5.4% 93,966 88,779 5.8% Preprints 6,932 6,567 5.6% 21,150 20,299 4.2% Total Advertising 34,661 32,879 5.4% 115,116 109,078 5.5% Circulation 7,941 7,918 0.3% 28,509 28,114 1.4% Other 797 628 26.9% 2,509 2,465 1.8% Total $43,399 $41,425 4.8% $146,134 $139,657 4.6% Operating Revenue of Consolidated Subsidiaries: St. Louis Operations (Note 2): Advertising $24,565 $24,021 2.3% $ 82,110 $ 79,567 3.2% Circulation 5,929 5,931 (0.0%) 21,317 20,889 2.0% Other 265 103 157.3% 714 548 30.3% Total $30,759 $30,055 2.3% $104,141 $101,004 3.1% Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. Advertising $10,096 $ 8,858 14.0% $ 33,006 $ 29,511 11.8% Circulation 2,012 1,987 1.3% 7,192 7,225 (0.5%) Other 532 525 1.3% 1,795 1,917 (6.4%) Total $12,640 $11,370 11.2% $ 41,993 $ 38,653 8.6% Operating Revenue of Unconsolidated Newspaper Joint Venture: Pulitzer's 50% share of Tucson Newspaper Agency: Advertising $ 4,253 $ 3,977 6.9% $ 14,631 $ 14,550 0.6% Circulation 1,123 1,122 0.1% 4,151 4,170 (0.5%) Other 23 35 (34.3%) 140 159 (11.9%) Total $ 5,399 $ 5,134 5.2% $ 18,922 $ 18,879 0.2% 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: Five Weeks 18 Weeks Comparable Change Comparable Change Total Total Pulitzer PNI Pulitzer PNI Advertising Revenue 4.5% 10.5% 4.6% 8.3% Total Revenue 3.9% 8.1% 3.8% 5.7% 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 18 18 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended May 2, May 4, May 2, May 4, 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 68.2 72.8 (6.4%) 240.4 241.3 (0.4%) General 15.4 18.0 (14.0%) 57.4 65.5 (12.3%) Classified 97.4 96.8 0.6% 327.0 340.1 (3.9%) Total 181.0 187.6 (3.5%) 624.8 646.9 (3.4%) Part run (Retail/ Classified) 59.8 54.1 10.6% 190.2 164.1 15.9% Total Inches 240.8 241.7 (0.4%) 815.1 811.0 0.5% TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star/Citizen advertising inches Full run (all zones) Retail 140.1 152.2 (7.8%) 503.4 531.1 (5.2%) General 6.3 7.3 (13.7%) 28.0 31.1 (10.2%) Classified 166.4 145.7 14.2% 560.2 531.5 5.4% Total 313.1 305.2 2.6% 1,091.6 1,093.7 (0.2%) Part run (Retail/ Classified) 4.4 6.8 (34.7%) 17.3 25.5 (32.0%) Total Inches 317.5 312.0 1.8% 1,108.9 1,119.2 (0.9%) Year-to-Date Period Average Average 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change Circulation (Note 4): ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Daily 279,985 295,343 (5.2%) 281,119 288,151 (2.4%) Sunday 445,179 471,363 (5.6%) 453,688 467,600 (3.0%) COMBINED PULITZER NEWSPAPERS, INC.: Daily 192,679 194,124 (0.7%) 190,437 191,531 (0.6%) Sunday 189,627 191,421 (0.9%) 188,352 191,145 (1.5%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star Daily 109,980 106,386 3.4% 112,519 110,228 2.1% Citizen Daily 32,274 35,112 (8.1%) 32,900 35,812 (8.1%) Combined Daily 142,254 141,498 0.5% 145,419 146,040 (0.4%) Star Sunday 171,478 172,749 (0.7%) 177,927 180,341 (1.3%) Five Five 18 18 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended May 2, May 4, May 2, May 4, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 (Note 3) (Note 3) Change Online Page Views (in thousands) St. Louis 38,003 24,706 53.8% 133,717 81,975 63.1% Combined PNI Web sites 9,031 7,177 25.8% 35,282 28,742 22.8% Combined Tucson Web sites 6,435 5,960 8.0% 26,775 25,613 4.5% 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 Web site: http://www.pulitzerinc.com/

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