New York (AFP)
The American press editor McClatchy announced his bankruptcy Thursday, another sign of the difficulties of the press in the United States, even if the group intends to continue its activity and restructure its debt.
Specialist in local information, the company created in the aftermath of the gold rush in California in 1857 controls 30 press titles in the United States.
He is notably the main shareholder of the Miami Herald, the Sacramento Bee and the Charlotte Observer.
Like most local and regional newspapers, McClatchy has accelerated in recent years its transition to digital, but also to a paid online model.
In one year, it has almost doubled the number of its subscribers to its online service alone, reaching more than 200,000 currently.
But according to preliminary figures released Thursday, McClatchy nonetheless expects revenue to drop 12% for fiscal 2019.
Unsurprisingly, this decline is mainly due to the fall in advertising revenues, down 19% over one year, after a decline of 16% the previous year.
Advertising revenue now weighs less than half of what it was just five years ago (-54%).
At the same time, turnover from sales and subscriptions continues to decline (-5% between 2018 and 2019), despite the growth of online subscriptions, which traditionally generate less income, on average, than subscriptions to print editions.
In the document submitted to the federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan, McClatchy presented a list of measures which should allow the group to continue its activity and to exit the safeguard procedure once the restructuring has taken place.
The company will in particular offer its creditors to exchange some of its obligations for new ones to restructure its debt.
McClatchy informed the New York Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, of his approach and "does not expect to exit (from the safeguard procedure) with the status of a listed company". The group therefore plans to apply to the New York Stock Exchange for delisting.
The stock quote did not resume Thursday at the opening of the stock market.
© 2020 AFP