Dallas Morning News Sees YOY Rise In Sub Revenue

The parent company of The Dallas Morning News saw its first year-over-year quarterly subscription revenue increase in six years as it started to recover from business shutdowns that led to steep advertising declines a year ago.

But the increase wasn’t enough to stave off a net loss for the three-month period ending June 30. DallasNews Corporation reported a loss of $1.5 million, compared with a $3.4 million loss for the same period a year ago. The most recent quarter includes $1.4 million in severance expenses from a voluntary buyout offer.

During a call with investors on Tuesday, Robert W. Decherd, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said company leaders believe the “prospect of a sustainable newspaper business is real.”

Total revenue for the quarter rose 9.2% to $38.7 million, up from $35.4 million during the same three-month period a year ago. Print primarily drove a 19.3% increase in advertising and marketing services. Circulation revenue increased 2.4% with digital-only subscribers sales up 52.3%, which offset a 2.4% decline in home delivery and a 7.6% decline in single-copy sales.

“We’ve made substantial progress in growing our digital footprint. Our numbers are encouraging,” Decherd said.

The News added 3,528 digital subscriptions to end the second quarter with 52,930 digital subscribers, up 21.4% from a year ago. The company has a combined 143,000 print and digital subscribers. That’s about the same as a year ago, showing circulation is stabilizing as digital picks up the loss of print subscribers.

Even with the most recent financial improvements, the company remains challenged to replace print revenue with digital revenue to support its operations. The company declined to disclose targets of a break-even point.

DallasNews is in better shape than many owners of large metropolitan daily newspapers with a cash cushion of $37.8 million and no debt. The company is also due a $22.4 million payment next year on the sale of its former longtime headquarters at 508 Young Street.

Chief financial officer and executive vice president Katy Murray said staff reductions this year through buyouts will result in future savings of $3 million on an annualized basis.