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Tribune Updates Business
Progress at Media Conferences
Executives
also outline business strategy for 2005
CHICAGO, December 8, 2004 -- Tribune
Company (TRB: NYSE) executives today updated business progress
and outlined company strategies for 2005 at the annual
UBS Warburg and CS First Boston media conferences in New
York City.
"Our ongoing operations are strong,"
said Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune chairman, president and chief
executive officer. "Excluding special charges, this
year we’ll
generate about $1.6 billion in operating cash flow and $825
million in free cash flow. We have a very solid financial
foundation going forward."
"Our financial results have been impacted
by the challenges we’ve faced this year,"
added FitzSimons. "Through three quarters we’ve
taken charges related to staff reductions and to circulation
issues at Newsday and Hoy. This quarter, we’ll take
another charge for staff reductions primarily at our East
Coast newspapers."
Scott Smith, Tribune Publishing chief
operating officer, outlined the group’s priorities
for 2005, emphasizing the broad reach of the company’s
14 daily newspapers. "Our newspapers are read by more than
8 million people on average daily and almost 12 million
on Sunday," said Smith. "Our
daily papers reach 45 percent of all adults in our major
markets every week, including more than 40 percent of those
ages 18 to 34."
"We are committed to growing responsive
readership, revenue and ad share, controlling expenses smartly
as well as innovating and executing with consistent discipline,"
he added. Smith will assume the post of Tribune Publishing
president on Jan. 1, 2005, upon the retirement of Jack Fuller.
Patrick Mullen, president of Tribune
Broadcasting, said, "A
choppy ad environment, atypical political spending and the
Olympics came together to make this a challenging year. We’re
looking forward to 2005, a non-Olympics, non-election year,
when our television stations typically gain market share."
Mullen also pointed to the success of
Superstation WGN, saying, "In the four years since we’ve
taken over distribution, the superstation has grown from
52 million to 65 million homes, well on our way to 75 million
homes," he
said. "This generates more sub fees, as well as higher
ratings, which, in turn, drives advertising revenue."
Don Grenesko, Tribune chief financial
officer, said Tribune’s
capital expenditures for 2004 would be about $220 million,
and slightly higher in 2005. He also said the company’s
interest expense for 2005 would be somewhat below this year
due to debt refinancing that took place in the spring. Finally,
Grenesko said Tribune’s tax rate for 2005 would be
39 percent, the same rate as this year.
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TRIBUNE (NYSE: TRB) is
one of the country’s top media companies, operating
businesses in broadcasting and publishing. It reaches
more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the
only media organization with television stations, newspapers
and websites in the nation’s top three markets.
In publishing, Tribune operates 14 leading daily newspapers
including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday
and Spanish-language Hoy, plus a wide range of targeted
publications. The company’s broadcasting group
operates 26 television stations, Superstation WGN on
national cable, Chicago’s WGN-AM and the Chicago
Cubs baseball team. Popular news and information websites
complement Tribune’s print and broadcast properties
and extend the company’s nationwide audience.
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