Newsquest’s ad revenue down 38.7%

Newsquest’s advertising revenue fell 38.7% year on year in the first three months of 2009.

Financial results published by the regional newspaper publisher’s US parent company Gannett also show that UK classified advertising revenue was down 45.1% in the first quarter.

Craig Dubow, chairman, president and chief executive of Gannett, said: “Our results reflect the pressure on advertising demand across all of our business segments due to continuing recessions in the US and the UK.

“Our results, however, highlight the positive impact of the company’s efforts to operate its businesses as cost efficiently as possible in light of the revenue realities we are facing in this extraordinary time.

“Although business conditions remain very challenging, we continue to transform all facets of the company as we position it for a more favourable economic environment and the opportunities we see in the changing media landscape.”

Total revenues from Gannett’s US and UK newspaper businesses were $1.1 billion (£737 million) for the quarter, a 26.9% decline from the same period a year ago.

The company’s total operating revenues for the company were $1.4 billion in Q1, compared to $1.7 billion in Q1 2008.