I can't think of a name
02-20-2009, 01:20 AM
The New York Times Co. suspended dividend payments to shareholders on Thursday for the first time in four decades as a publicly traded company, another in a series of concessions to sharply lower newspaper revenue.
The decision by the board pre-empts a dividend payment that, on the usual schedule, would have been paid later this month. The annualized savings is just $34.5 million, because the dividend was already cut sharply last fall.
"Today's decision provides the company with additional financial flexibility given the current economic environment and the uncertain business outlook," the company chairman, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., said in a statement.
In May 2007, the company raised its quarterly dividend to 23 cents a share, from 17.5 cents. Newspaper advertising had already begun to slump by then, and the decision was second-guessed by some analysts.
The industry's troubles became steadily worse through 2007 and 2008. The Times Co.'s overall revenue last year fell 7.7 percent, and its newspaper ad revenue dropped 14.2 percent.
In November, the company cut the dividend to 6 cents, the lowest it had been since the 1980s.
Cash flow remains positive, but it is shrinking, and the company faces significant debt payments over the next 13 months, so it has taken several steps to raise cash. The company is seeking a sale-leaseback of a portion of its headquarters building, it is trying to sell its investment in the Boston Red Sox and it recently borrowed $250 million from the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú, an investor in the company.
The company has a two-class stock structure, with the most majority of the super-voting shares held by a trust for Sulzberger's extended family. For members of the family, the dividend has been a major source of income.
The trust released a statement saying, "In light of the economic climate and the challenges facing the media industry, the trustees believe that the board's suspension of the dividend is in the best interests of all shareholders. All of the trustees remain committed to the editorial integrity and independence of The New York Times."
Shares closed Thursday at $3.51, down 20 cents.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/20/business/20times.php
Maybe they find another foreign oligarch to bail them out al la Carlos SLim.
The decision by the board pre-empts a dividend payment that, on the usual schedule, would have been paid later this month. The annualized savings is just $34.5 million, because the dividend was already cut sharply last fall.
"Today's decision provides the company with additional financial flexibility given the current economic environment and the uncertain business outlook," the company chairman, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., said in a statement.
In May 2007, the company raised its quarterly dividend to 23 cents a share, from 17.5 cents. Newspaper advertising had already begun to slump by then, and the decision was second-guessed by some analysts.
The industry's troubles became steadily worse through 2007 and 2008. The Times Co.'s overall revenue last year fell 7.7 percent, and its newspaper ad revenue dropped 14.2 percent.
In November, the company cut the dividend to 6 cents, the lowest it had been since the 1980s.
Cash flow remains positive, but it is shrinking, and the company faces significant debt payments over the next 13 months, so it has taken several steps to raise cash. The company is seeking a sale-leaseback of a portion of its headquarters building, it is trying to sell its investment in the Boston Red Sox and it recently borrowed $250 million from the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú, an investor in the company.
The company has a two-class stock structure, with the most majority of the super-voting shares held by a trust for Sulzberger's extended family. For members of the family, the dividend has been a major source of income.
The trust released a statement saying, "In light of the economic climate and the challenges facing the media industry, the trustees believe that the board's suspension of the dividend is in the best interests of all shareholders. All of the trustees remain committed to the editorial integrity and independence of The New York Times."
Shares closed Thursday at $3.51, down 20 cents.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/20/business/20times.php
Maybe they find another foreign oligarch to bail them out al la Carlos SLim.