Transcontinental to lay off 250 workers, posted $144.3M loss

The Canadian Press reported on a recent announcement made by North American printing and publishing company, Transcontinental Inc. On Thursday this week, the company declared it will lay off 250 more employees, in addition to the 1,500 that were laid off earlier this year. Transcontinental had just reported a $144.3 million loss for the second quarter in 2009, which included restructuring charges, the reduced value of intangible assets, and a goodwill write-off totaling $169.3 million. In the second quarter 2009, Transcontinental recorded consolidated revenues of $563.4 million, down 5% from $595.1 million in the second quarter of 2008. The decline is mainly due to a major decrease in the volume of direct mail activities in the United States and, to a lesser extent, to the effects of the recession on some printing and publishing activities.

The Montreal-based company maintains that the reduction of the 1,750 jobs will generate $100 million in savings for the company, but did not mention which operations would be affected. While its magazine and newsprint business has been affected by a decrease in advertising revenue, CEO Francois Olivier believes the “significant restructuring efforts have reduced the company's cost base enough to allow its businesses to remain cash-flow positive.”

Transcontinental is the largest printer in Canada and in Mexico, and sixth-largest in North America. It is also the country’s leading publisher of consumer magazines and French-language educational resources, the second-largest community newspaper publisher, and its digital platform delivers unique content through more than 120 Web sites.

Read the full article here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iyzBZRqoGGbsUup3jrqehy6aBKNQ

See the Transcontinental release at http://www.transcontinental.com/en/5-news-centre/09-06-11.html