JOURNAL REGISTER COMPANY 2002 ANNUAL REPORT State Street Square 50 West State Street Trenton, NJ 08608-1298 609-396-2200 www.journalregister.com 4. 3. 2. 1. In MillionsOfDollars FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Capital-Saratoga andMid-HudsonregionsofNewYork. clustered insixgeographicareas:GreaterPhiladelphia,Connecticut,Cleveland,CentralNewEngland,andthe operationsarestrategically AlloftheCompany’s daily publicationsandcanbeaccessedatwww.journalregister.com. dailynewspapersandnon- sites,whichareaffiliatedwiththeCompany’s Journal RegisterCompanyoperates147Web the Journal RegisterCompanyisaleadingU.S.newspaperpublishingcompanythatowns23dailynewspapers,including PROFILE COMPANY OPERATING INCOME TOTAL REVENUES favorably affected comparisons of 2002 results with prior years. Refer to the discussion in Note 3 to the Company’s financials favorably affectedcomparisonsof2002resultswith prioryears.RefertothediscussioninNote3Company’s No.142)“GoodwillandOthe On December31,2001,theCompanyadoptedStatement ofFinancialAccountingStandardsNo.142(SFAS See AppendixA,“ReconciliationofCertainNon-GAAP FinancialMeasures,”immediatelyfollowingtheForm10-KincludedinthisA Adjusted toexcludespecialchargesandextraordinaryitems.SeenotesSelectedFinancialData. The resultsofoperationssoldbytheCompanyin2000and2001areincludeduntiltheirrespective datesofsale. 1998 2 122.9 1998 426.8 New HavenRegister, 1999 131.9 1999 469.6 2000 129.3 2000 464.0 3 2001 88.5 2001 394.4 Connecticut’s second largest daily and Sunday newspaper, and233non-dailypublications. secondlargestdailyandSundaynewspaper, Connecticut’s 2002 4 100.3 2002 407.8 1 NET INCOME EBITDA 1998 2 48.0 1998 2 146.7 3 1999 47.7 1999 160.7 3 2000 48.5 2000 156.9 2001 34.2 2001 114.9 2002 4 48.1 2002 115.3 FREE CASHFLOW TOTAL DEBT 2 tatements includedinitsForm10-K. 1998 765.0 1998 86.8 nnual Report. 1999 731.5 1999 87.4 r IntangibleAssets,”which 2000 494.6 2000 86.7 3 2001 522.8 2001 57.1 2002 483.4 2002 61.6 Local: News Sports Business Advertising Robert M. Jelenic Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS Two thousand and two was a year of significant accomplishment for Journal Register Company. We delivered solid results in what proved to be a more challenging year than we and others had anticipated. Our results were highlighted by net income of $1.14 per diluted share, as compared to $1.03 per diluted share in 2001 on a comparable basis, and free cash flow of $61.6 million, or $1.46 per diluted share, as compared to $57.1 million, or $1.34 per diluted share, in 2001.* These results reflect sequential quarterly improvement in year-over-year advertising revenue trends, with positive year-over-year advertising results in the fourth quarter, and the impact of our continued focus on stringent cost controls. Our cash operating expenses on a same-store basis for 2002 were down two per- cent and our non-newsprint cash operating expenses on a same-store basis were up 0.3 percent. 1 This overall cost containment was “Our newspapers are increasingly vital to the local achieved despite substantial increases in communities they serve and are an integral part of employee benefit costs, primarily pension and medical, and general insurance costs, the day-to-day lives of their readers.” and contributed to our ability to once again generate substantial free cash flow. Max- While the economy in 2002 kept pressure expect to drive this growth through improved imizing free cash flow has always been one on advertising revenues, which were down functionality, content enhancement, and of our top priorities as it helps fuel our 1.6 percent on a same-store basis for the additional advertising product offerings. growth. year, we saw significant improvement in Our circulation revenue performance for In addition to our strong financial per- year-over-year advertising revenue trends 2002 was one of the best in the industry. formance, we had several operational each quarter, with positive year-over-year Same-store circulation revenues increased achievements in 2002. We increased our results reported in the fourth quarter. Our 1.2 percent as compared to 2001, and 13 Company-wide readership by approximately continued focus on small account growth of our 23 daily newspapers posted circula- three percent, we increased circulation at and the benefits of cross-selling in our clus- tion gains in both the March and September 13 of our 23 daily newspapers, we launched ters contributed to increases in advertising 2002 Audit Bureau of Circulation FAS-FAX six new publications, we completed the con- momentum as we progressed through 2002. reports. This growth validates industry solidation of five daily newspapers and thir- Several of our newspapers posted strong research that shows that 59 percent of read- ty-two non-daily newspapers into our new advertising revenue growth in 2002, led by ers prefer the type of intensely local, subur- central production facility in Exton, Penn- the Southern Rhode Island Newspaper ban newspapers produced by Journal sylvania, we completed three strategic Group, our weekly newspaper group in Register Company to other news sources acquisitions and we integrated the 25 Wakefield, Rhode Island, which was up 8.9 when making local buying decisions. acquired publications into our existing percent; The Times Herald, Norristown, Our commitment to producing high- clusters. Pennsylvania, which was up 8.3 percent; quality, award-winning newspapers that Our 2002 results can be attributed to our The Middletown Press, Middletown, are a must-read in their communities led continued focus on further strengthening our Connecticut, which was up 5.8 percent; and to an increase in overall Company reader- local franchises and expanding our clusters. The Oneida Daily Dispatch, Oneida, New ship of approximately three percent based The strength of our local franchises is driven York, which was up 5.3 percent. on Company newspapers measured by by our proprietary local information and our Complementing our local print products, Scarborough Research last year. Our two award-winning journalism, published in a our online business posted strong results in largest clusters, Greater Philadelphia and reader-friendly format. Our strong local fran- 2002, with revenues of four million dollars, Connecticut, led our readership growth, with chises, combined with our focused manage- an increase of almost 13 percent as com- our Greater Philadelphia newspapers posting ment team and our 4,800 talented, hard- pared to 2001. Page views increased to readership gains of 4.4 percent daily, 7.6 working employees operating together in 100 million, resulting in a compound annu- percent Sunday and 5.5 percent non-daily, tightly integrated clusters, have enabled us al growth rate of 44 percent since 2000. and our Connecticut newspapers posting to operate at the highest performance levels We remain focused on growing our online readership gains of 3.7 percent daily, 3.1 in the industry. franchises in each of our markets and percent Sunday and 6.4 percent non-daily, based on newspapers measured. With the exception of our smallest daily newspaper, Three of the Company’s newspapers acquired in 2002 all of our daily and Sunday newspapers in our Connecticut and Greater Philadelphia clusters were measured by Scarborough. In addition to growing the readership of our existing newspapers, we also continued to build on our strong local franchises with new product launches, highlighted by the launch of the Lansdale edition of the Sunday Times Herald in Montgomery County, JOURNAL REGISTER COMPANY 2002 ANNUAL REPORT Local: News Sports Business Advertising Two of the Company’s new product launches in 2002 programs and realize additional operating circulation category for its Sunday Sports synergies. Section, its Sports Special Section on the In 2002, we also completed the consoli- New York Yankees’ 100th anniversary, and dation of five of our daily newspapers and for Enterprise Reporting (Sports) for its seven- thirty-two of our non-daily publications into day series marking the 150th anniversary of our new production facility in Exton, the Yale-Harvard regatta rivalry; Pennsylvania. This consolidation resulted in The Record in Troy, New York, and The cash expense savings in 2002 of $1.1 mil- Reporter in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, tied for lion and we expect these savings to increase first place for the Best Daily Sports Section in Pennsylvania – our sixth launch of a Sunday to $1.4 million in 2003. This is an excel- the 2002 Suburban Newspapers of America edition since 1994. This new edition, lent example of the operating efficiencies editorial contest; and which generated revenues of approximately derived from our clustering strategy. The Litchfield County Times in New one million dollars in 2002 on an annual- In September, we also installed a new Milford, Connecticut, won first place for ized basis, and our five other product press at our newspaper operation in Fall General Excellence in Lifestyle Journalism in launches, including Connecticut Bride River, Massachusetts, where we print the under-25,000 circulation category in the magazine, contributed significantly to our The Herald News, the Taunton Daily Gazette Missouri School of Journalism 2002 editori- success in 2002. and several other weekly and niche products al contest. In addition to growing our readership and for our New England and Connecticut news- Our newspapers are increasingly vital to launching several new products, we capital- papers. The new press is more efficient and the local communities they serve