FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Jan. 18, 2001
Media General Generates Record December Revenues;
Fourth-Quarter Results To Exceed Wall Street Estimates
RICHMOND, Va. — Media General (AMEX: MEG.A) today announced a 44 percent increase in December revenues from continuing operations compared with the same month in 1999.
Total revenues from continuing operations rose to $80.3 million in December 2000 from $55.9 million in December 1999, reflecting the benefit of acquisitions, an additional week in the December 2000 reporting period and excellent performance by the Company's Publishing and Broadcast divisions.
"Record revenues from our core operations in December, combined with favorable non-operating items, produced a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter," said J. Stewart Bryan III, Media General's chairman and chief executive. "While we are still reviewing our results for the fourth quarter of 2000, we expect earnings could be approximately double the First Call consensus estimate of 44 cents per share. However, we do not expect to attain the 95 cents per share from continuing operations that we reported in the fourth quarter of 1999."
Comparing the December monthly results, Publishing Division revenues increased 31 percent. This includes revenues from five newspapers acquired in August 2000 as well as increased revenue from preprint and general advertising, especially telecommunications, across the Division. Department store advertising also surged in the final two weeks of the year as retailers promoted last-minute Christmas buying and post-holiday sales.
The Broadcast Division also benefited from this late department store surge, which was accompanied by strong automotive advertising as manufacturers attempted to clear remaining inventories. Most of the Division's 81 percent revenue increase, however, came from the acquisition of 13 television stations in March 2000.
"While we are pleased with our fourth-quarter performance, which benefited significantly from political advertising, the outlook for the first quarter of 2001 is not as robust," Bryan said. "We believe that higher spending in December by some advertisers has resulted in lower-than-usual spending in January. Furthermore, the economic slowdown has caused advertisers to pull back so far this year. Therefore, we have redoubled our efforts to maintain an aggressive sales posture and to cultivate new sources of revenue from all of our operations."
Earnings Release Date and Conference Call
Media General plans to announce fourth-quarter and full-year 2000 earnings on Jan. 30, 2001, at approximately 11:00 a.m. EST. The company will host a conference call for investors on Jan. 30 at 3:00 p.m. EST to review the results. The conference call also will be available via real-time webcast at http://play.rbn.com/?vdat/vdatg2/g2demand/vdat001013a.rm
About Media General
Media General is an independent, publicly owned communications company situated primarily in the Southeast with interests in newspapers, television, interactive media, and diversified information services. Media General's publishing assets include The Tampa Tribune, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Winston-Salem Journal, and 22 other daily newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina, as well as nearly 100 weeklies and other periodicals and a 20 percent interest in The Denver Post. Media General's 26 network-affiliated television stations reach more than 30 percent of the television households in the Southeast, and nearly 8 percent of those in the United States.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties and should be understood in the context of the company's publicly available reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Media General's future performance could differ materially from its current expectations.
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