Torstar print ads fall

"Torstar Corp.'s national and local print advertising continued to fall in the third quarter but cost-cutting efforts have been successful in maintaining the company's cash balances and dividend at an acceptable level, executives said Wednesday.

But they also said cost reduction will remain a important area of focus with no end in sight for a years-long decline in print advertising revenue at Torstar's flagship Toronto Star newspaper and its Metroland Media Group.

Torstar chief executive John Boynton told analysts on a conference call that he sees cost-cutting as essential to preserving cash flow that's required to fuel a transformation of the company's core business.

"In the balance of 2017, we expect to benefit from $3-million in cost-savings related to restructuring and outsourcing initiatives, already undertaken to date, and we expect these cost reductions to offset print ad revenue trends which we expect (will) continue to be challenging," Boynton said.

However, Torstar's unrestricted cash and cash equivalents was down to $51.4-million at Sept. 30, from $75.4-million at the end of December, leading analysts to ask whether Torstar's dividend was under review."