The Associated Press on Tuesday reported a loss for 2011 as revenues fell for a third straight year, but signalled that it sees some improvement in 2012 for the US news co-operative. The AP, which has been battered by the woes of the news industry, said 2011 revenues dipped to $627.6 million last year from $630.5 in 2010, showing a steadier situation after a 10 percent drop in 2009 and seven percent decline in 2010.
Before taxes, AP said it lost $23 million, compared with a $22.5 million loss in 2010. After taxes, the loss amounted to $193.3 million because under accounting rules it must establish a reserve against the future tax benefits for its losses. AP, a not-for-profit cooperative owned by some 1,400 US newspapers, released its results at its annual meeting in Washington. An AP dispatch quoted its chief financial officer Ken Dale as saying he was encouraged that the revenue declines had slowed. "We feel good about the year in 2011," Dale said.
The AP also said revenue is likely to increase as much as two percent in 2012, boosted by so-called premium content sales related to the US elections and the London Olympics. It said the AP's mobile news application for tablet computers and smartphones are also expected to generate new advertising revenue. The results come with the AP having announced last month a change in leadership, with chief executive Tom Curley to leave after nine years, replaced by Gary Pruitt, currently CEO of The McClatchy Co.