Postmedia sees revenue decline in second quarter as Omicron weighs

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Second quarter revenue at Postmedia Network Canada Corp. fell 3.3 per cent to $102.5 million as the impact of the Omicron variant continued to weigh on results, the company said Thursday.

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Although Postmedia, owner of the Financial Post and more than 120 media properties across Canada, reported a $3.4 million or 14.5 per cent gain in digital revenue in the three-month period that ended Feb. 28, both print circulation and print advertising declined, by $5.3 million or 12.4 per cent and $1.9 million or 5.2 per cent, respectively.

In addition, operating expenses in the quarter rose from the prior year period as government assistance declined, including a reduction of $5.7 million in the amount recovered from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. Overall, the company posted a $22.1 million net loss in the quarter compared to a $0.7 million gain in the period a year prior.

Andrew MacLeod, chief executive of Postmedia, said the economy is still in the early stages of a post-pandemic recovery. He said the arrival of the Omicron variant this winter and subsequent shutdowns, caused the economy to stall and affected second-quarter results.

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“It hurt some of our revenue lines,” MacLeod said. “We’re in a wait and see (mode), you know, how does the economy wake up and recover, following let’s call it the conclusion of omicron.”

Last month, Postmedia closed a $16.1 million acquisition of media publisher Brunswick News Inc., and on Thursday, the company also announced it has added Jamie Irving to the boards of both Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and its subsidiary Postmedia Network Inc.

Irving previously led Brunswick News Inc. for 13 years and currently serves as the chair of News Media Canada, a trade association for newspaper publishers in Canada.

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“This is a person who spent over 20 years in this industry,” MacLeod said. “He has extraordinary expertise.”

Postmedia had previously said that the Brunswick acquisition would extend its reach into the Atlantic region, where BNI has operated a series of weekly and daily newspapers including the Telegraph-Journal, Times Globe, Times & Transcript, Miramichi Leader and The Daily Gleaner.

MacLeod said the deal would also enhance a parcel delivery service that Postmedia launched last summer.

As revenue from its legacy print business declines, the company has said it intends to continue to identify and undertake ongoing cost reduction initiatives.

In the second quarter results, Postmedia said “initiatives related to compensation expense reductions, real estate rationalization, production efficiencies and other transformation programs” implemented during the quarter were expected to lead to $6 million in net annualized cost savings.