Industry’s shift from print hurt Postmedia

Company’s quarterly losses of $58M more than double over same period last year

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. faced a deeper loss of $58.2 million in the second quarter, about twice as much as last year, on bigger operating losses and a weaker Canadian dollar.

The publisher of the National Post and other newspapers, as well as digital content, said the loss was equal to $1.45 per share, which compared to a loss of $25.3 million or 63 cents per share in the same period last year.

Postmedia said its operating loss more than doubled to $10.9 million and it booked a higher foreign currency exchange loss of $29 million.

Revenue dropped 10.5 per cent to $145.4 million as print advertising revenues fell 16 per cent.

Digital revenues also fell by 2.8 per cent as both local advertising and classified revenues weakened.

Postmedia said it continues to see a shift of advertiser money away from traditional print publications to social media sites and search engines, a factor that has been exacerbated by “periods of economic uncertainty.”

“This shift is expected to continue and appears to be permanent,” the company told shareholders in its financial results report.

“We anticipate the print advertising market to remain challenging and expect current trends to continue throughout the remainder of fiscal 2015.”

Last month, Postmedia received approval from the Competition Bureau to buy Sun Media’s English-language newspapers and digital properties for $316 million.