The Glone and Mail - 01.08.2019

Meetthe

people

whoare

stopping

badnews

initstracks.

MCKAY FAMILY

Established the School of Health

Technology at WE College in Kenya

and supported education across the

region, empowering youth with tools

to transform themselves and their

communities.

FAITH CHEROP

STUDENT, KISARUNI GROUP

OF SCHOOLS

One of 14 siblings, Faith had to fight

for her high school education. The

first woman in her family to go to

high school and university, Faith is

paving the way for the next

generation of girls to pursue their

education and build a brighter

future for themselves, their family

and their community.

MILCAH CHEPKIRUI

STUDENT, KISARUNI

GROUP OF SCHOOLS

Graduated as valedictorian

of her high school class and

is continuing her studies to

become the first female

neurosurgeon in the Maasai

Mara, inspiring other girls to

turn their dreams to reality.

Together, they’re creating

sustainable impact

and changing lives for

generations to come.

Be part of the good news.

Join the WE community

and learn how you can

make a difference at home

or around the world.

WE.ORG

GETTOOLS.GETDOING.

Media generously provided by the Globe and Mail.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019 | THEGLOBEANDMAILO REPORTONBUSINESS| B7

Torstar Corp.booked a $17.4-million loss attributable to

shareholders in its second quarter, as revenue dropped 11

per cent from the same time last year and restructuring

expenses increased, the company reported Wednesday.

The newspaper and digital media company’s net loss for

the second quarter was equivalent to 22 cents a share and

compared with a year-earlier profit of $4.95-million or 6

cents a share of net income.

Restructuring expenses for the three months ended June

30 totalled $13.85-million, up from $5.78-million a year earli-

er. During the quarter, the company announced it would

close its Hamilton printing and mailroom operations.

Excluding restructuring and asset impairment costs, Tor-

star’s operating loss was 2 cents a share, which was less than

analyst estimates.

The owner of the Toronto Star has been focused on find-

ing new sources of revenue to offset declines in its older

businesses – primarily sales of advertising in its daily and

community newspapers and dis-

tribution of advertising flyers.

Torstar executives told analy-

sts Wednesday on a conference

call that print advertising reve-

nue continues to decline and

revenue from flyer distribution

was also weaker during the quar-

ter, but its transition plans are on

track.

Chief executive John Boynton

said the company ended the

quarter with more than 20,000 digital-only subscribers, in

addition to 42,500 subscribers that have digital access as

part of their print package. “We’re right on expectations

with all these subscriber counts, building a more consistent,

predictable and recurring revenue stream,” Mr. Boynton

said. However, Mr. Boynton declined to reveal the average

revenue per user from the digital-only subscriptions. Simi-

larly, he wouldn’t say how many subscriptions will be re-

quired to offset lost ad revenue or when Torstar expects

overall revenue will stabilize, but said “that’s all modelled

out and at this point we’re pretty comfortable.”

In the second quarter, Torstar’s total revenue fell to

$127.2-million, from $143.2-million in the second quarter of

2018.

Its segmented revenue (excluding Torstar’s share of reve-

nue from joint ventures and VerticalScope) fell to $142.4-

million from $160.67-million a year earlier.

Torstar holds an investment in The Canadian Press as part of a

joint agreement with subsidiaries of The Globe and Mail and

Montreal’s La Presse.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORSTAR (TS.B)

CLOSE: 85¢, DOWN 5¢

Torstarreportslossas

restructuringcostsrise

DAVID PADDONTORONTO

We’re right on

expectations with

all these subscriber

counts.

JOHN BOYNTON

TORSTAR CHIEF EXECUTIVE

[CHINA]

Ratherbefishin’

FishingboatspreparetoleaveportinLianyungang,China,on

Wednesday,thelastdayofthecountry’ssummerfishingmoratorium

AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Airbus SEurged European
governments to step up plans
for a “likely” no-deal Brexit and
settle a long-running subsidy
dispute with the United States to
help limit trade risks for Eu-
rope’s largest plane maker.
The twin concerns surround-
ing Airbus’s cross-border factory
network prompted chief exec-
utive Guillaume Faury to issue a
warning about rising trade
tensions even as he unveiled
stronger than expected second-
quarter profit.
Airbus builds wings for com-
mercial aircraft in Britain, where
new Prime Minister Boris John-
son has promised to lead the

country out of the European

Union on Oct. 31 whether he has

secured a negotiated departure

or not, fuelling speculation in

currency markets of a disorderly

Brexit.

Airbus has built a stockpile of

about one month’s supply of

aircraft parts as a buffer to cope

with Britain leaving the EU

without a transitional deal, Mr.

Faury said.

Plane parts are exempt from

default World Trade Organiza-

tion tariffs under a 1980 pact

signed by both the EU and Bri-

tain in its own right. But Airbus

is worried extra red tape could

slow supply chains and hamper

the movement of engineers.

Mr. Faury also sounded a

broader alarm about rising

global tensions and in particular

recent U.S. threats to impose

sanctions on European planes

and other goods in the wake of

WTO rulings against European

government subsidies to Airbus.

He called for a settlement in

the long-running dispute, while

Airbus included a warning in its

results for the first time of dam-

age to deliveries and finances if

the punitive tariffs go ahead.

The EU is gearing up to impose

countertariffs after the WTO

ruled separately against U.S.

subsidies to Boeing.REUTERS

STRONGAIRBUS PROFITCLOUDEDBYU.S.SUBSIDYBAT TLEANDFEARSOFNO-DEALBREXIT