DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 9, 2012--
A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE: AHC) announced today that the Company’s
Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per
share, payable on June 1, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of
business on May 11, 2012. This dividend will be the Company’s fifth
since reinstating its dividend in May 2011.
The Company also announced that The Dallas Morning News reached
an agreement with LocalEdge™, Hearst Corporation’s full-service Internet
marketing business, for The Morning News to resell LocalEdge’s
digital solutions to small and medium businesses in Dallas/Fort Worth.
These solutions include website development and maintenance, video,
search engine marketing, search engine optimization, mobile advertising
and email marketing. The Morning News will also offer
sophisticated advertising analytics and reputation management services.
James M. Moroney III, publisher and Chief Executive Officer of The
Dallas Morning News, said, “This agreement enables The Dallas
Morning News to offer proven digital marketing solutions to small
and medium businesses in Dallas/Fort Worth. Small and medium businesses
are increasing their marketing spend on digital products and services at
a rapid rate. By leveraging Hearst’s substantial investments and
operating experience with LocalEdge, The Morning News is poised
to grow this new revenue stream rapidly and meaningfully.”
As indicated in the Company’s year-end earnings press release on
February 21, The Dallas Morning News will invest approximately $3
million into the launch of LocalEdge products and services in 2012. The
investment is primarily for the recruitment and development of a new
50-person sales team focused solely on this initiative. This team is
designed and incentivized to profitably meet the specialized needs of
small and medium businesses, and the team’s efforts will be supported by
targeted marketing campaigns.
Annual revenue from LocalEdge solutions is projected between $2.5
million and $3.0 million in 2012 and between $18.0 and $20.0 million
annually by 2014. The Morning News expects this initiative to
turn cash flow positive in late 2013 and recoup the entire front-end
investment by mid-2015.
Voluntary Contribution to Pension Plans
The Board authorized the Company to make a $10 million voluntary
contribution to the Company’s defined benefit plans at some point in
2012. Provided the plans’ aggregate discount rate stabilizes and
investment performance meets or exceeds expectations, the Company does
not anticipate making further voluntary contributions to its pension
plans for the foreseeable future.
Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Investor Day
The Company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders will take place on
Thursday, May 17 at 1:30 p.m. CDT. Shareholders will consider the
re-election of three Class I Directors: John A. Beckert, Dealey D.
Herndon and Ronald D. McCray. Beckert joined the Board in September
2011. A longtime Dallas resident, Beckert has more than 30 years of
senior management experience in the hotel and club development industry,
as well as private equity investing. Nicole G. Small, a Class II
Director, will also stand for re-election. Small, a Dallas native,
joined the Board in September 2011 and currently serves as Chief
Executive Officer of the Dallas Museum of Nature & Science.
At the Annual Meeting, shareholders will be asked to ratify the
appointment of KPMG LLP as A. H. Belo’s independent registered public
accounting firm for 2012.
The Company’s 2012 Investor Day is planned to take place on the morning
of Thursday, October 4 in Dallas, Texas near the Company’s headquarters.
Robert W. Decherd, chairman, president and Chief Executive Officer
commented on Investor Day saying, “The entire Management Committee will
attend, and joining us this year are Howard G. Sutton, publisher,
president and Chief Executive Officer of The Providence Journal and
Ronald R. Redfern, publisher, president and Chief Executive Officer
of The Press-Enterprise. A detailed update will be provided on
progress we’ve made on our financial and operating strategies since
2011’s Investor Day. We look forward to seeing you in Dallas.”
For additional information about Investor Day and to reserve your
attendance, please call 214-977-4816. Investor Day will be
simultaneously webcast on the Company’s website at www.ahbelo.com/invest.
An archive and transcript of the webcast will be available at www.ahbelo.com
in the Investor Relations section.
About A. H. Belo Corporation
A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE: AHC), headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a
distinguished newspaper publishing and local news and information
company that owns and operates four daily newspapers and a
diverse group of websites. A. H. Belo publishes The Dallas Morning
News, Texas’ leading newspaper and winner of nine Pulitzer Prizes; The
Providence Journal, the oldest continuously-published daily
newspaper in the U.S. and winner of four Pulitzer Prizes; The
Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), serving the Inland Southern
California region and winner of one Pulitzer Prize; and the Denton
Record-Chronicle. The Company publishes various niche publications
targeting specific audiences, and its partnerships and/or investments
include the Yahoo! Newspaper Consortium and Classified Ventures, owner
of Cars.com. A. H. Belo also owns and operates commercial printing,
distribution and direct mail service businesses. Additional information
is available at www.ahbelo.com
or by contacting David A. Gross, vice president/Investor Relations and
Strategic Analysis, at 214-977-4810.
Statements in this communication concerning A. H. Belo Corporation's
(the "Company's") business outlook or future economic performance,
anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses, dividends, capital
expenditures, investments, impairments, pension plan contributions, real
estate sales, future financings, and other financial and non-financial
items that are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" as
the term is defined under applicable federal securities laws.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
statements.
Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited
to, changes in capital market conditions and prospects, and other
factors such as changes in advertising demand and newsprint prices;
newspaper circulation trends and other circulation matters, including
changes in readership methods, patterns and demography, and audits and
related actions by the Audit Bureau of Circulations; challenges
implementing increased subscription pricing and new pricing structures;
challenges in achieving expense reduction goals, and on schedule, and
the resulting potential effects on operations; technological changes;
development of Internet commerce; industry cycles; changes in pricing or
other actions by existing and new competitors and suppliers; labor
relations; regulatory, tax and legal changes; adoption of new accounting
standards or changes in existing accounting standards by the Financial
Accounting Standards Board or other accounting standard-setting bodies
or authorities; the effects of Company acquisitions, dispositions,
co-owned ventures, and investments; pension plan matters; general
economic conditions and changes in interest rates; significant armed
conflict; and other factors beyond our control, as well as other risks
described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2010, and other public disclosures and
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Source: A. H. Belo Corporation
A. H. Belo Corporation
David A. Gross, 214-977-4810
Vice
President/Investor Relations and Strategic Analysis
