11/14/08

Canadian publisher and broadcaster Canwest Global has taken a whopping $1.01-billion write down on its Canadian television operations, citing dire expectations for advertising revenues to come. The loss reversed a year-earlier profit of $197 million.

Stripping out the impact of the write down and other charges, Canwest reported an adjusted loss of $38 million in the quarter, actually an improvement from the year before loss of $65 million.

CanWest CEO Leonard Asper said in a news release that the write down was “consistent” with similar actions by “many other” major North American media organizations. However, he also cited what he called an “unbalanced regulatory framework” for Canadian conventional TV broadcasters and increased competition from specialty TV and non-traditional media.

Fourth-quarter revenue fell to $726 million from $678 million in the same period a year before.

No specific details were released for digital media at Canwest, but the company has recently grown that division, adding a new vice president of strategy and product development, a vice president and general manager of mobile and a director of local digital products.

Earlier in the week, Canwest announced it will cut 560 jobs, or about five per cent of its workforce. The company employs approximately 10,500 people in Canada.

CEO Asper nevertheless reported that the fundamentals of its businesses remain sound, with strong operating profit and cash flows from its publishing operations and specialty channels, which "continue to out-perform the industry."