Postmedia Network Inc, which bought Canwest's newspaper division in July for US$1.1 billion, reported a 23 percent increase in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year that ended up on August 31, the Calgary Herald revealed Monday. Revenue totalled C$241.3 million, 1.5 percent higher than the C$237.7 million reported by Canwest in 2009.

The growth was led by a 7 percent increase in digital revenue and a 2 percent in print advertising, the company explained in a press release. However, it reported losses of C$44.6 millions.

Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey said the company will remain privately owned until the half of 2011. Photo: the National Post

The results included both Canwest and Postmedia's financials, as the media group bought the 11 national dailies and 35 community newspapers six weeks before the end of the fiscal year, The Globe and Mail pointed out.

"Moving forward we will be looking at the results of our efforts as a new company, fully emerged from the past," said chief executive officer Paul Godfrey, according to the Calgary Herald. "We have made progress on key business priorities and continue the work of transforming the company, attacking legacy cost structures and paying down debt," he said.

In the past two months, Postmedia has offered buyouts to its employees in at least five newspapers, including The Victoria Times Colonist, The Province, The Vancouver Sun, the National Post and the Ottawa Citizen. To further reduce costs, Godfrey the company outsourced its advertising production and it will centralize the newspapers paginations, The Globe and Mail explained.

Postmedia is also considering to go public. But Godfrey said it will remain privately own at least until mid 2011.