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8-K - FORM 8-K - DallasNews Corp | d76421e8vk.htm |
EX-10.1 - EX-10.1 - DallasNews Corp | d76421exv10w1.htm |
Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 7, 2010
7:00 A.M. CDT
Thursday, October 7, 2010
7:00 A.M. CDT
Newspaper Publisher A. H. Belo Corporation Reaches Agreement With
Former Parent Company Belo Corp. to Split Pension Plan
Former Parent Company Belo Corp. to Split Pension Plan
DALLAS A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE: AHC) announced today that the Company and Belo Corp.
have agreed to split The G. B. Dealey Retirement Pension Plan (GBD Pension Plan) into
separately-sponsored plans effective on or about January 1, 2011. The split of the GBD Pension
Plan follows the spin-off in February 2008 of Belo Corp.s newspaper businesses and related assets
into a separate publicly-traded company, A. H. Belo Corporation. The GBD Pension Plan is a defined
benefit plan created in 1943, and its 9,300 participants include current and former employees of
the Company and Belo Corp., and their respective subsidiaries. Benefits under the GBD Pension Plan
were frozen in 2007. At the time of the 2008 spin-off, Belo Corp. remained the sole sponsor and
administrator of the GBD Pension Plan for all participants, and the Company agreed to share
investment oversight responsibilities with Belo Corp. and to reimburse Belo Corp. for 60 percent of
each cash contribution that Belo Corp. made to the GBD Pension Plan.
Under the agreement between A. H. Belo and Belo Corp., on or about January 1, 2011 benefit
liabilities and assets allocable to the approximately 5,100 current and former employees of the
Company and its newspaper businesses under the GBD Pension Plan will be transferred in accordance
with government regulations to two new defined benefit pension plans created, sponsored and managed
by or on behalf of the Company (the AHC Pension Plans), and the new AHC Pension Plans will become
solely responsible for paying those benefits. The benefit liabilities and assets allocable to the
current and former employees of Belo Corp. and its television businesses will continue to be held
by the existing GBD Pension Plan sponsored and managed by or on behalf of Belo Corp. For plan
years starting on and after January 1, 2011, Belo Corp. and A. H. Belo shall each be solely
responsible for contributions made to their respective plans. The split of the GBD Pension Plan
will not change the amount of the benefits any participant has accrued or is currently receiving.
Robert W. Decherd, chairman, president and Chief Executive Officer of A. H. Belo, said,
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Newspaper Publisher A. H. Belo Corporation Reaches Agreement With
Former Parent Company Belo Corp. to Split Pension Plan
October 7, 2010
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Former Parent Company Belo Corp. to Split Pension Plan
October 7, 2010
Page Two
The decision to split The G. B. Dealey Retirement Pension Plan is one of the final steps in
completely separating the affairs of the two companies. The GBD Pension Plan split will provide A.
H. Belo with greater certainty and flexibility in relation to the timing and size of potential cash
contributions. And, we gain much greater control over the general business activities of the
Company.
The GBD Pension Plan was closed to new participants on June 30, 2000 except for certain union
employees at The Providence Journal, for whom the Plan was closed to new participants on July 30,
2004. On March 31, 2007, the GBD Pension Plan was frozen and employee participants as a whole
ceased earning additional benefits under the Plan. At the time of the freeze, employee
participants received an additional five years of service credit under the GBD Pension Plan and
supplemental annual transition payments for five years were established under a separate plan
subject to certain conditions.
The Company anticipates reporting a material non-cash charge related to its decision to split
the GBD Pension Plan when it reports fourth quarter financial results. The Company will provide
additional details on the GBD Pension Plan split during its third quarter financial results
conference call. Under the new A. H. Belo single employer plans, effective on or about January 1,
2011 future pension expense and cash contributions will be determined by interest rates, discount
rates, return on assets, regulatory requirements, and actuarial gains and losses.
In its Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2009, the Company estimated its portion of
the GBD Pension Plan was underfunded by $118 million, and the Companys cash reimbursement
obligations to Belo Corp. for 2010 and 2011 were $8.6 million and $22.9 million, respectively. The
Company has largely met its cash pension reimbursement obligation for calendar year 2010. The
Company anticipates only $300,000 of cash pension reimbursement expense in the third quarter and
none in the fourth quarter.
About A. H. Belo Corporation
A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE: AHC), headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a distinguished
newspaper publishing and local news and information company that owns and operates four
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Newspaper Publisher A. H. Belo Corporation Reaches Agreement With
Former Parent Company Belo Corp. to Split Pension Plan
October 7, 2010
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Former Parent Company Belo Corp. to Split Pension Plan
October 7, 2010
Page Three
daily newspapers and a diverse group of Web sites. A. H. Belo publishes The Dallas Morning News,
Texas leading newspaper and winner of nine Pulitzer Prizes since 1986; The Providence Journal, the
oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the U.S. and winner of four Pulitzer Prizes; The
Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), serving southern Californias Inland Empire region and winner of
one Pulitzer Prize; and the Denton Record-Chronicle. The Company publishes various specialty
publications targeting niche audiences, and its partnerships and/or investments include the Yahoo!
Newspaper Consortium and Classified Ventures, owner of cars.com. A. H. Belo also owns direct mail
and commercial printing businesses. Additional information is available at www.ahbelo.com or by
contacting David A. Gross, vice president/Investor Relations and Strategic Analysis, at
214-977-4810.
Statements in this communication concerning A. H. Belo Corporations (the Companys) business
outlook or future economic performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses, dividends,
capital expenditures, investments, impairments, pension plan contributions, real estate sales,
future financings, and other financial and non-financial items that are not historical facts, are
forward-looking statements as the term is defined under applicable federal securities laws.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those statements.
Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to, changes in capital market
conditions and prospects, and other factors such as changes in advertising demand and newsprint
prices; newspaper circulation trends and other circulation matters, including changes in readership
methods, patterns and demography, and audits and related actions by the Audit Bureau of
Circulations; challenges in achieving expense reduction goals, and on schedule, and the resulting
potential effects on operations; technological changes; development of Internet commerce; industry
cycles; changes in pricing or other actions by competitors and suppliers; regulatory, tax and legal
changes; adoption of new accounting standards or changes in existing accounting standards by the
Financial Accounting Standards Board or other accounting standard-setting bodies or authorities;
the effects of Company acquisitions, dispositions, co-owned ventures, and investments; pension plan
matters; general economic conditions and changes in interest rates; significant armed conflict; and
other factors beyond our control, as well as other risks described in the Companys Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, and other public disclosures and filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.