NEWSPAPER GROUPS POST GAINS
By Adnews Staff
Torstar Corp., Hollinger Inc. and Southam Inc. reported strong results for 1997. Torstar had a profit of $260 million, although $170 million of that game from non-recurring gains from selling two international holdings. Even without those sales, Torstar had a record profit of $90 million. The biggest gains at Torstar were in its newspaper division. Advertising lineage was up 13%, while flyer distribution jumped 38%. Torstar's community newspapers reported a profit of $35.9 million, compared to $19.3 million in 1996. Torstar's annual revenue was $1.3 billion, up from $1.08 billion in 1996.
Hollinger reported a 61% increase in earnings from $250 million in 1996 to $402.3 million last year. In the fourth quarter, Hollinger increased its revenues from $561.3 million to $611.6 million. But higher taxes, costs and other measures dropped net profits down from $40.5 million to $15.4 million. For the year, revenue was $2.2 billion, up from $2.07 billion in 1996. A lot of Hollinger's gains came from Southam Inc. and its other Canadian newspapers, where operating revenue rose 11.3%. Southam saw advertising sales jump 14% last year.