American Community Newspapers (ACN) reported a net loss of US$4.5 million in the first quarter, while the publisher's revenue slid 11.7 percent, Editor & Publisher reported Thursday.

Revenue fell mainly due to poor performances from the Texas-based publisher's 44 papers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

ACN publishes three dailies and 100 mostly free non-dailies, shoppers and other publications, according to E&P.

$0.31 was lost per share, compared to a net loss of $0.29 per share last year. Total revenue dropped to $15.9 million, compared to $18 million in the same period last year, E&P reported.

Advertising revenue was down 12.1 percent, to $14.5 million, due mainly to ad downturns in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The second quarter of the fiscal year is also not looking good, as ACN stated that it “does not expect to be in compliance with financial ratio covenants contained in its credit agreement,” and is discussing with its bank ways to “explore the possibility of obtaining waivers and modifying the terms of its financial agreements,” according to E&P.