Oct. 31--Cost-cutting helped A.H. Belo Corp. of Dallas, owner of The Providence Journal Co., reduce its loss for the third quarter despite a drop in revenue.

The company's stock (AHC:NYSE) closed Friday at $4.10, up 69 cents a share, or 20 percent. It was the largest percentage increase of any stock traded Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the company reported a net loss of $5.8 million, or 28 cents a share.

That compares with a net loss of $17.3 million, or 84 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier.

Overall, third-quarter net operating revenue fell 17.5 percent, to $126.9 million.

But the company offset the revenue drop by cutting costs and expenses from its operations by nearly 20 percent, to $143.8 million.

Robert W. Decherd, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement that the year-to-year percentage decline in advertising revenue eased slightly in the third quarter when compared to the first and second quarters of 2009 due to the improved performance of The Dallas Morning News.

One of the company's financial measurements -- called earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization -- was highest at The Providence Journal, followed by A.H. Belo's two other principal newspapers, The Dallas Morning News and The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., the company said.

Also on Friday:

-- A.H. Belo reported that its third-quarter advertising revenue -- including print and Internet revenue -- fell 27 percent, to $83.8 million. That drop was offset somewhat by an 11.6-percent increase in circulation revenue, to $35.2 million.

-- The company said that its Internet revenue fell 15 percent, to $9.7 million. (Internet revenue represented 7.6 percent of A.H. Belo's overall revenue.)

-- In a conference call with securities analysts and investors, A.H. Belo executives said that they continue to explore the possibility of charging for at least some of the content on the company's Web sites. They also said they expect to announce at some point "an e-reader solution" for the company's newspapers. (The reference was to a method that allows consumers to read a newspaper on an electronic device.)

-- In its earnings report, the company said that, as of Sept. 30, it had no borrowings outstanding under its bank credit facility and remained in compliance with the facility's covenants.

-- A.H. Belo said that its third-quarter financial results included a $20-million, non-cash charge against earnings related to a packaging facility operated by the Dallas Morning News. (The newspaper is closing the facility, putting it up for sale, and consolidating production operations at a single plant in Plano, Tex.)

-- A.H. Belo said it received a one-time, $12-million tax benefit in the third quarter related to the company's split-off last year from its sister company, Belo Corp. (The tax benefit springs from pension and tax-related matters.)

ndowning@projo.com

-----

To see more of The Providence Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.projo.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Providence Journal, R.I.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.