2019 Q1 FS Press Release
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PRESS RELEASE TORSTAR CORPORATION REPORTS FIRST QUARTER RESULTS TORONTO, ONTARIO – (CNW – May 8, 2019) – Torstar Corporation (TSX:TS.B) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019. Highlights for the first quarter: • We continue to make progress on the transformation of our business. During the first quarter of 2019, we entered into an agreement with Apple to provide Toronto Star content on Apple News+, Apple's new paid subscription service that launched in Canada and the United States on March 25, 2019. Under this agreement, we receive a share of Apple News+ subscriber revenue and can also sell advertising against our content on the Apple News+ platform. • We continued to make good progress in paid digital subscription offerings on thestar.com and finished the quarter with more than 15,000 digital only subscribers. • We continued to grow our base of registered users in the community sites and continue to evaluate potential subscription models in three test markets in the Community Brands segment, and have fully rolled out paid subscriptions in one of these test markets. • We ended the first quarter of 2019 with $51.5 million of cash and cash equivalents and $8.9 million of restricted cash; Torstar has no bank indebtedness. • Our net loss attributable to equity shareholders was $7.4 million ($0.09 per share) in the first quarter of 2019. This compares to a net loss of $14.5 million ($0.18 per share) in the first quarter of 2018. • Adjusted loss per share was $0.06 in the first quarter of 2019. This compares to an adjusted loss per share of $0.20 in the first quarter of 2018. • Our segmented adjusted EBITDA was $12.1 million in the first quarter of 2019, up $10.3 million from the first quarter of 2018 and included the benefit of $18.0 million of digital media tax credits and the absence of $1.3 million of lease expense related to the accounting change for leases effective January 1, 2019. Excluding these two factors, segmented adjusted EBITDA loss in the Daily Brands segment was $6.2 million in the first quarter, compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2018 and segmented adjusted EBITDA loss in the Community Brands segment was $2.4 million, compared to adjusted EBITDA of $0.6 million in the first quarter of 2018. Segmented adjusted EBITDA in the Digital Ventures segment was $4.1 million in the first quarter, down $1.3 million relative to the first quarter of 2018, $0.4 million of which was related to the Workopolis sale in April 2018. • Segmented revenue was $131.2 million, down $16.2 million or 11% in the first quarter of 2019. “We continued to make good progress on our journey towards a digital future that combines the power of data with our deep roots in journalism to develop new and growing digital subscription and advertising revenue streams. We ended the quarter with over 15,000 digital only subscribers to thestar.com, which was in line with our expectations. We also announced an agreement with Apple which has the potential to allow us to generate revenue from a broader national audience. Results in the quarter however continued to reflect ongoing challenges in the print advertising market.” said John Boynton, President and CEO of Torstar. “Segmented adjusted EBITDA, excluding the benefit of digital media tax credits, was down $7.7 million as print advertising revenue trends worsened slightly in the quarter compared to our experience in recent quarters. At the same time, we remain pleased with the performance of our subscriber revenue and flyer distribution revenue which represent a significant portion of our revenue base, and remain relatively resilient. These categories are a source of strength for us as we focus our efforts on growing new digital revenue streams while managing declines in print advertising. We continue to manage costs carefully and remain focused on identifying ways to operate more efficiently across our operations to help pay for investments in new capabilities critical to our future. We ended the quarter with $52 million in cash, unchanged from a year ago." -1- The following chart provides a continuity of earnings per share from the first quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2019: Three months ended March 31 Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Per Share** Earnings (Loss) Per Share ($0.26) ($0.20) Loss per share from continuing operations attributable to equity shareholders in 2018 Changes • Adjusted EBITDA* 0.13 0.13 • Amortization and depreciation* (0.01) (0.01) Operating earnings (loss)* (0.14) (0.08) • Restructuring and other charges* 0.01 Operating loss* (0.13) (0.08) • Interest and financing costs 0.01 0.01 • Non-cash foreign exchange 0.02 • Loss from associated businesses (excluding VerticalScope) (0.01) (0.01) • Other 0.02 0.02 Loss per share attributable to equity shareholders in 2019 ($0.09) ($0.06) *Includes proportionately consolidated share of joint venture and VerticalScope's operations. These include Non-IFRS or additional IFRS measures. ** Refer to discussion of "Non-IFRS measures" including definition of adjusted earnings (loss) per share. OPERATING RESULTS –FIRST QUARTER 2019 The following tables set out, in $000’s, the segmented results for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018: Three months ended March 31, 2019 Total Per Adjustments Consolidated Digital Total & Statement (in $000’s) Communities Dailies Ventures Corporate Segmented* Eliminations1 Loss Operating revenue $54,144 $64,262 $12,771 $131,177 ($15,195) $115,982 Salaries and benefits2 (18,569) (20,484) (4,854) ($1,671) (45,578) 5,038 (40,540) Other operating costs (25,965) (42,818) (3,773) (926) (73,482) 4,708 (68,774) Adjusted EBITDA** 9,610 960 4,144 (2,597) 12,117 (5,449) 6,668 Amortization & depreciation (3,935) (2,448) (10,218) (2) (16,603) 9,630 (6,973) Share based compensation (79) (23) (319) (313) (734) 734 Operating earnings (loss)** 5,596 (1,511) (6,393) (2,912) (5,220) 4,915 (305) Restructuring and other charges (1,839) (1,436) (63) (3,338) 4 (3,334) Operating profit (loss)** $3,757 ($2,947) ($6,456) ($2,912) ($8,558) $4,919 ($3,639) Net loss ($7,746) Three months ended March 31, 2018 Total Per Adjustments Consolidated Digital Total & Statement of (in $000’s) Communities Dailies Ventures Corporate Segmented* Eliminations1 Loss Operating revenue $59,765 $71,215 $16,428 $147,408 ($18,436) $128,972 Salaries and benefits3 (31,422) (29,944) (6,078) ($1,812) (69,256) 5,990 (63,266) Other operating costs (27,768) (42,737) (4,995) (855) (76,355) 5,423 (70,932) Adjusted EBITDA** 575 (1,466) 5,355 (2,667) 1,797 (7,023) (5,226) Amortization & depreciation (3,002) (3,107) (9,529) (15,638) 8,958 (6,680) Share based compensation (92) (57) (181) (349) (679) 679 Operating earnings (loss)** (2,519) (4,630) (4,355) (3,016) (14,520) 2,614 (11,906) Restructuring and other charges (1,553) (2,595) (261) (4,409) 405 (4,004) Operating loss** ($4,072) ($7,225) ($4,616) ($3,016) ($18,929) $3,019 ($15,910) Loss from continuing operations ($20,860) Income from discontinued operations $6,300 Net loss ($14,560) -2- 1Reflects adjustments and eliminations of proportionately consolidated results of, and transactions with joint ventures and VerticalScope Holdings Inc. ("VerticalScope"). 2 Salaries and benefits for the first quarter of 2019 included the recovery of $18.0 million of Digital Media Tax Credits ($11.2 million in the Communities segment and $6.8 million in the Dailies segment) 3Salaries and benefits for the first quarter of 2018 included the recovery of $0.3 million of Digital Media Tax Credits in the Dailies segment. * Includes proportionately consolidated share of joint venture operations and VerticalScope . ** These are non-IFRS or additional IFRS measures, see “Non-IFRS measures”. Revenue Segmented revenue was $131.2 million, down $16.2 million or 11% in the first quarter of 2019. During the first quarter of 2019, subscriber revenues increased 1%, flyer distribution revenues decreased 6% and print advertising revenues decreased 21% respectively from the prior year. Digital advertising revenues in the first quarter were down 14% compared to the prior year reflecting the absence of $2.2 million of revenue from Workopolis following the sale in April 2018 as well as lower revenues at VerticalScope and eyeReturn. Revenues at VerticalScope continued to be impacted by reductions in search related traffic volumes. Digital revenues were 19% of total revenue in the first quarter of both 2019 and 2018. Operating revenue (excluding our proportionate share of revenues from our joint ventures and our 56% interest in VerticalScope) was down $13.0 million or 10% in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to 2018. The following charts provide a breakdown of total segmented operating revenue: Communities Dailies Digital Ventures Total Three months ended March 31, 2019 $ % $ % $ % $ % Print advertising $18,984 35% $22,176 35% $41,160 31% Digital advertising 5,907 11% 5,716 9% $12,771 100% 24,394 19% Flyer distribution 19,713 36% 4,721 7% 24,434 19% Print and digital subscriber 103 29,510 46% 29,613 23% Other 9,437 18% 2,139 3% 11,576 8% Total $54,144 100% $64,262 100% $12,771 100% $131,177 100% Communities Dailies Digital Ventures Total Three months ended March 31, 2018 $ % $ % $ % $ % Print advertising $22,811 38% $29,155 41% $51,966 35% Digital advertising 6,145 10% 5,784 8% $16,428 100% 28,357 19% Flyer distribution 21,535 36% 4,568 6% 26,103 18% Print and digital subscriber 119 29,356 41% 29,475 20% Other 9,155 16% 2,352 4% 11,507 8% Total $59,765 100% $71,215 100% $16,428 100% $147,408 100% Adjusted EBITDA Our segmented adjusted EBITDA was $12.1 million in the first quarter of 2019, up $10.3 million from the first quarter of 2018 and included the benefit of $18.0 million of digital media tax credits and the absence of $1.3 million of lease expense related to the accounting change for leases effective January 1, 2019.