Triple Crown Media CEO: FY08 revenue flat to slightly up

Will Atkinson | Oct 02, 2007 4:01pm EDT | Comment

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Triple Crown Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: TCMI) CEO Tom Stultz said the company expects fiscal 2008 revenue to be “basically flat” versus fiscal 2007, which ended June 30. New contracts and overall problems with the newspaper industry were cited as factors in the revenue projection, the chief executive said during an afternoon conference call.

The Lexington, Ky.-based newspaper and publisher of collegiate marketing materials lost two college contracts, but gained a deal with the University of Tennessee, which Stultz said will not be highly profitable for the first years of the contract.

The company is predicting flat to slightly positive growth for its one weekly and six daily newspapers, he said.

“We’re projecting very, very modest growth on the newspaper side—flat to up slightly,” Stultz said. “Newsprint prices will also continue the downward trend.”

The turbulent housing market, debt crunch and low auto sales are hurting the newspaper industry, but he said Triple Crown is confident it will outperform the industry. A lot of the revenue, he said, will come from finding “creative ways to generate new revenue to replace losses in some of the three categories.”

After Thursday’s close, Triple Crown reported revenue of $21 million for the fourth quarter ended June 30, up from $20 million a year earlier. The company incurred a fourth-quarter loss of $2.1 million, or $0.40 per share, compared with a loss of $2.1 million, or $0.41 per share, during the same period for 2006. This year’s fourth quarter was adversely affected by a higher interest expense due to higher average debt levels, the company said in a statement.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, Triple Crown’s revenue was $130.3 million, up 58.8% from $71.5 million in fiscal 2006.

In late afternoon trading, TCMI shares were up 1.27%, or $0.08, at $6.37. Over the past 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $5.72 to $11.54.