A man works on the rollers of a printing press at a Transcontinental plant.J.P. Moczulski
Transcontinental Inc. , posted a first-quarter loss on a tax provision, but Canada's biggest commercial printer raised its quarterly dividend by 7 per cent.
The company said net loss applicable to participating shares was $33.3 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with a net income applicable to participating shares of $25.7 million, or 32 cents, a year ago.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 33 cents a share.
Revenue fell 4 percent to $495.9 million, hurt mainly by the sale of its black and white book printing business.
The fall in net income was mainly due to a tax provision of $58 million related to notices of reassessment, the company said in a statement.
Transcontinental also increased its quarterly dividend by 7 percent to 14.5 cents per class A subordinate voting shares and class B shares.
The company, which also publishes magazines, community newspapers and French-language educational resources, has been hit by a broader slump in Canadian advertising spending.
The company also swapped assets with Quad/Graphics Inc. last year, getting rid of Mexican printing presses and bolstering its Canadian capabilities.
Transcontinental inked a four-year deal to double its marketing for Canadian Tire Corp. starting in January, and has printed The Globe and Mail newspaper since late 2010.