Spain's El Pais publisher posts €53 mn loss

Spain's top media group Prisa, publisher of leading daily El Pais, reported Monday a net loss of 53 million euros in the second quarter of 2012 due in part to falling advertising revenue. Operating income fell by 5.1 percent compared to the comparable period of 2011 to 626 million euros ($759 million), it said in an earnings statement. The company is striving to cut costs and last year announced a cut of nearly 20 percent of its global staff. It posted a loss of more than 451 million euros in 2011 after taking provisions on its Portugal business. In the latest full quarter, its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell by 13.2 percent to 103.9 million euros compared to the second quarter of last year, it said. Prisa said advertising revenues fell in key markets Spain and Portugal but Latin American operations plus its pay-TV and online services helped offset this, with the El Pais news website notching up 7.6 million users. It said its results were affected by 54.4 million euros in provisions set aside to settle a dispute with communications group Ono. Over the first six months of this year the group recorded a loss of 61.1 millions euros, of which 53.09 million were in the April to June period, Prisa said.