EX-99.2 4 ex99_2.txt EXHIBIT 99.2 EXHIBIT 99.2 [GRAPHIC LOGO OMITTED] >KNIGHT RIDDER> NEWS RELEASE KNIGHT RIDDER 50 WEST SAN FERNANDO ST. SAN JOSE, CA 95113 KNIGHT RIDDER RELEASES MARCH STATISTICAL REPORT SAN JOSE, April 15, 2003 - (KRI:NYSE) After relatively strong advertising performances in January and February, total advertising revenue in March was down 2.3%. Uncertainty leading up to the war in Iraq, which got under way March 19, was a factor. Soft help wanted, particularly in San Jose and Philadelphia, continued to be a problem. Knight Ridder's total operating revenue for March was down 2.6%. For the month, total ad revenue was up 9.8% in Akron, 7.7% in Fort Wayne, 2.2% in Miami, 1.4% in Lexington and 0.6% in Contra Costa. The other large markets were soft. Retail was down 0.6% for the month. Akron was up 8.6%, Charlotte was up 3.8%, Columbia was up 1.3% and Miami was up 0.9%. General advertising revenue was down 5.6% for the month, soft across most markets. Akron was up 46.0%, Fort Wayne was up 38.1%, Contra Costa was up 32.5%, Lexington was up 22.9%, San Jose was up 18.5% and Kansas City was up 11.3%. The other large markets were soft. Travel and airlines were down significantly due to the war with Iraq and concerns over Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Comparisons in computer equipment were tough as we cycled through last year's heavy spending related to the HP/Compaq merger that ran in many of our major markets last year. Telecommunications rebounded considerably in most major markets and automotive was also up in many markets. Classified revenue was down 3.2% for the month. Help-wanted revenue was down 16.3%. Real estate was up 11.3%. Automotive was down 4.3%. For the month, Fort Wayne total classified was up 17.6%, Miami was up 11.2%, Philadelphia was up 4.8% and Akron was up 4.6%. San Jose's year-over-year decline was 16.0%, with help-wanted down 39.6%. Other revenue was down 3.5% for the month, due to a $1.7 million decrease in earnings from Detroit, partially offset by a $958,000 increase in online revenue. Circulation revenue was down 3.5% for the month. Circulation was up 0.9% daily and up 1.5% Sunday compared with the prior year. Knight Ridder (NYSE: KRI) is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 31 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a readership of 8.3 million daily and 12.1 million Sunday. Knight Ridder also has investments in a variety of Internet and technology companies and two newsprint companies. The company's Internet operation, Knight Ridder Digital, creates and maintains a variety of online services, including RealCities.com, a national network of city and regional destination sites in 68 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are located in San Jose, Calif. 10
STATISTICAL REPORT For the period of 03/03/03 - 03/30/03 March Year-to-date ----------------------- ------------------------ Percent Percent 2003 2002 Change 2003 2002 Change --------- --------- ------- --------- --------- ------- REVENUE ($000) - See Notes 1 & 2 Advertising Retail 81,127 81,625 -0.6% 249,991 243,631 2.6% General 22,500 23,827 -5.6% 75,726 74,883 1.1% Classified 61,986 64,038 -3.2% 195,724 201,533 -2.9% Total 165,613 169,490 -2.3% 521,441 520,047 0.3% --------- --------- --------- --------- Circulation 37,352 38,716 -3.5% 120,013 126,425 -5.1% Other Revenue 11,445 11,865 -3.5% 35,944 31,740 13.2% --------- --------- --------- --------- Total Operating Revenue 214,410 220,071 -2.6% 677,398 678,212 -0.1% ========= ========= ========= ========= AVERAGE CIRCULATION (000's of copies including Detroit) - Notes 1 & 2 Morning 3,720 3,677 1.2% 3,682 3,658 0.6% Evening 195 205 -4.8% 195 200 -2.6% Daily 3,915 3,881 0.9% 3,877 3,858 0.5% Sunday 5,253 5,175 1.5% 5,189 5,166 0.5% ADVERTISING LINAGE (000's of six-column inches) - Notes 1 & 2 Full-Run ROP Retail 1,145.9 1,224.8 -6.4% 3,527.0 3,643.6 -3.2% General 191.2 194.3 -1.6% 603.6 602.0 0.3% Classified 1,398.8 1,372.2 1.9% 4,363.9 4,253.7 2.6% --------- --------- --------- --------- Total 2,735.9 2,791.2 -2.0% 8,494.5 8,499.3 -0.1% ========= ========= ========= ========= Factored Part-Run ROP 178.5 174.0 2.6% 556.0 521.0 6.7% ========= ========= ========= ========= TOTAL PREPRINTS INSERTED 571,607 511,738 11.7% 1,787,291 1,579,805 13.1% ========= ========= ========= ========= 11
STATISTICAL REPORT For the period of 03/03/03 - 03/30/03 March Year-to-date -------------------------------- -------------------------------- Percent Percent 2003 2002 Change 2003 2002 Change -------- -------- ------- -------- -------- ------- FULL-RUN ROP ADVERTISING LINAGE DATA By Markets (000's of six-column inches) - Notes 1 & 2 Akron Beacon Journal 119.6 104.1 14.9% 370.0 311.6 18.7% Charlotte Observer 123.2 136.5 -9.7% 384.8 415.9 -7.5% Columbia State 91.8 96.3 -4.7% 287.3 281.7 2.0% Contra Costa (Note 3) 116.6 106.1 9.9% 357.8 341.5 4.8% Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, Journal Gazette 102.9 106.5 -3.4% 332.4 330.8 0.5% Fort Worth Star Telegram 173.0 174.1 -0.6% 548.1 546.5 0.3% Kansas City Star 143.5 152.6 -6.0% 437.9 455.1 -3.8% Lexington Herald-Leader 89.7 91.3 -1.8% 270.2 269.8 0.1% Miami Herald & el Nuevo Herald 163.4 156.9 4.1% 514.4 485.9 5.9% Phila. Inquirer, News 179.4 187.4 -4.3% 570.4 585.5 -2.6% St. Paul Pioneer Press 92.1 81.7 12.7% 280.4 252.8 10.9% San Jose Mercury News 180.6 198.3 -8.9% 574.3 608.1 -5.6% Wichita Eagle 66.5 67.1 -0.9% 206.6 205.7 0.4% All Other Dailies 1,093.6 1,132.3 -3.4% 3,359.9 3,408.4 -1.4% --------- --------- --------- --------- Total - Full-Run ROP 2,735.9 2,791.2 -2.0% 8,494.5 8,499.3 -0.1% ========= ========= ========= =========
Note 1 - The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press operate under a joint operating agreement as Detroit Newspapers (DN). Revenue and linage are excluded for 2003 and 2002. Note 2 - Measured by individual Knight Ridder newspapers. Where necessary, certain previously reported linage has been restated to be consistent with measurement guidelines currently in use. Note 3 - Full-run ROP advertising linage represents the sum of full-run ROP linage for each of Contra Costa's three newspapers. # # # For more information, call Vice President/Corporate Relations Polk Laffoon at 408-938-7838 (e-mail: plaffoon@knightridder.com), or Director/Corporate Communications Lee Ann Schlatter at 408-938-7839 (e-mail: lschlatter@knightridder.com), or visit Knight Ridder's Web site at www.kri.com. 12