PTZ Pulitzer

Pulitzer Inc. Reports Sixth-Period Revenue for Four Weeks Ended June 27, 2004 ST. LOUIS, July 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pulitzer Inc. (NYSE:PTZ) today announced that revenue increased 6.6 percent for the four-week accounting period ended June 27, 2004 and increased 5.1 percent for the twenty-six-week year-to-date period when compared to the respective 2003 periods. June 2004 advertising revenue in St. Louis and at the 12 Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. ("PNI") markets increased 8.1 percent, with increases of 6.2 percent at the St. Louis operations and 13.2 percent at PNI. On a comparable basis, excluding the results of PNI acquisitions absent in the comparable periods of 2003, total revenue increased 5.7 percent for the four-week period ended June 27, 2004 and increased 4.2 percent for the twenty-six-week year-to-date period. Total comparable advertising revenue increased 7.1 percent for the four-week period ended June 27, 2004 and increased 5.0 percent for the twenty- six-week year-to-date period. Sixth period 2004 comparable advertising revenue increased 6.2 percent at the St. Louis operations and 9.5 percent at PNI. Comparable advertising revenue increased 3.6 percent at the St. Louis operations and 8.9 percent at PNI for the twenty-six-week year-to-date period. The principal components of the sixth-period comparable advertising revenue results for St. Louis and PNI were: -- Comparable retail advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 6.9 percent. Comparable retail ROP revenue increased 4.3 percent, principally due to gains in the grocery segment, as well as gains in local territory revenue, which increased 16.5 percent in St. Louis. These gains were offset by weakness in the department store, entertainment, home improvement, and furniture categories. Comparable retail ROP revenue increased 3.3 percent in St. Louis and increased 6.2 percent at PNI. Comparable retail preprint revenue increased 16.3 percent in St. Louis and 5.2 percent at PNI. -- Comparable sixth period national advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 4.0 percent versus 2003, principally due to strong schedules from IBM and Boeing and strength in the telecom segment, partially offset by weakness in the pharmaceutical and packaged goods categories. Comparable national preprint revenue increased 33.9 percent for the period and comparable national ROP revenue decreased 0.2 percent. Comparable national advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 2.7 percent in St. Louis and 29.8 percent at PNI. -- Comparable classified revenue increased 8.2 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 6 St. Louis PNI Pulitzer Agency Agency Help Wanted 12.8% 32.5% 17.4% 33.1% 19.3% Automotive 5.7% 0.9% 4.7% 0.9% 4.2% Real Estate 4.4% 18.4% 8.4% 0.5% 7.8% Total Classified Revenue 6.0% 14.5% 8.2% 12.0% 8.6% 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 8.5% 32.1% 13.5% 40.6% 16.7% Automotive 8.5% 5.0% 7.7% 3.6% 7.2% Real Estate 8.5% 18.3% 11.2% (4.6%) 9.8% Total Classified Revenue 7.9% 16.2% 10.0% 13.4% 10.3% June 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 8.3 percent. TNI retail revenue, including preprints, increased 6.1 percent with a 4.2 percent increase in retail ROP and an 11.5 percent increase in retail preprint revenue. Local territory revenues increased 15.8 percent for the period. TNI national revenue, including preprints, increased 5.5 percent. June classified revenue increased 12.0 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 26 26 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended June 27, June 29, June 27, June 29, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change (Note 3) (Note 3) Consolidated Operating Revenue (Note 1): Advertising: Retail $ 9,385 $ 8,892 5.5% $ 58,825 $ 56,537 4.0% National 2,506 2,511 (0.2%) 13,101 14,357 (8.7%) Classified 10,995 10,036 9.6% 67,757 60,852 11.3% Total 22,886 21,439 6.7% 139,683 131,746 6.0% Preprints 5,115 4,457 14.8% 31,384 29,535 6.3% Total Advertising 28,001 25,896 8.1% 171,067 161,281 6.1% Circulation 6,194 6,210 (0.3%) 41,032 40,493 1.3% Other 587 508 15.6% 3,689 3,570 3.3% Total $34,782 $32,614 6.6% $215,788 $205,344 5.1% Operating Revenue of Consolidated Subsidiaries: St. Louis Operations (Note 2): Advertising $19,948 $18,784 6.2% $121,593 $117,384 3.6% Circulation 4,632 4,596 0.8% 30,640 30,054 1.9% Other 224 90 148.9% 1,038 803 29.3% Total $24,804 $23,470 5.7% $153,271 $148,241 3.4% Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. Advertising $ 8,053 $ 7,112 13.2% $ 49,474 $ 43,897 12.7% Circulation 1,562 1,614 (3.2%) 10,392 10,439 (0.5%) Other 363 418 (13.2%) 2,651 2,767 (4.2%) Total $ 9,978 $ 9,144 9.1% $ 62,517 $ 57,103 9.5% Operating Revenue of Unconsolidated Newspaper Joint Venture: Pulitzer's 50% share of Tucson Newspaper Agency: Advertising $ 3,348 $ 3,092 8.3% $ 21,362 $ 20,805 2.7% Circulation 822 849 (3.2%) 5,821 5,874 (0.9%) Other 22 42 (47.6%) 207 253 (18.2%) Total $ 4,192 $ 3,983 5.2% $ 27,390 $ 26,932 1.7% 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 26 Weeks Comparable Change Comparable Change Total Total Pulitzer PNI Pulitzer PNI Advertising Revenue 7.1% 9.5% 5.0% 8.9% Total Revenue 5.7% 5.8% 4.2% 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 Four Four 26 26 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended June 27, June 29, June 27, June 29, 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 52.1 56.5 (7.7%) 345.2 357.7 (3.5%) National 15.5 17.8 (12.6%) 88.1 99.2 (11.2%) Classified 79.4 82.2 (3.4%) 488.0 505.6 (3.5%) Total 147.1 156.5 (6.0%) 921.3 962.5 (4.3%) Part run (Retail/ Classified) 41.5 37.1 11.7% 277.2 238.7 16.1% Total Inches 188.6 193.6 (2.6%) 1,198.4 1,201.2 (0.2%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star/Citizen advertising inches Full run (all zones) Retail 108.3 108.5 (0.2%) 724.7 758.3 (4.4%) National 6.7 9.6 (30.7%) 39.2 47.7 (17.8%) Classified 131.5 124.5 5.6% 825.1 777.0 6.2% Total 246.5 242.6 1.6% 1,589.0 1,583.0 0.4% Part run (Retail/ Classified) 3.6 5.4 (33.4%) 24.0 36.3 (33.9%) Total Inches 250.1 248.0 0.8% 1,613.0 1,619.3 (0.4%) Circulation (Note 4): Year-to-Date Period Average Average 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 Change ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Daily 282,603 282,914 (0.1%) 282,059 287,229 (1.8%) Sunday 450,763 462,458 (2.5%) 453,579 466,343 (2.7%) COMBINED PULITZER NEWSPAPERS, INC.: Daily 185,094 184,731 0.2% 191,478 192,066 (0.3%) Sunday 187,484 188,893 (0.7%) 188,568 190,578 (1.1%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star Daily 95,167 95,704 (0.6%) 107,943 106,147 1.7% Citizen Daily 28,999 32,234 (10.0%) 31,795 34,727 (8.4%) Combined Daily 124,166 127,938 (2.9%) 139,738 140,874 (0.8%) Star Sunday 158,379 159,590 (0.8%) 172,108 174,122 (1.2%) Online Page Views (in thousands) Four Four 26 26 Weeks Weeks Weeks Weeks Ended Ended Ended Ended June 27, June 29, June 27, June 29, 2004 2003 Change 2004 2003 (Note 3) (Note 3) Change St. Louis 26,054 16,766 55.4% 186,297 116,716 59.6% Combined PNI Web sites 8,809 7,578 16.2% 53,003 43,406 22.1% Combined Tucson Web sites 6,266 7,746 (19.1%) 38,900 39,562 (1.7%) Totals 41,129 32,090 28.2% 278,200 199,684 39.3% 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, Pulitzer Inc., +1-314-340-8402 Web site: http://www.pulitzerinc.com/

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