Print production firm RR Donnelley & Sons Co. yesterday reported $14.5 million in net profit for the first quarter, down from $46.7 million in profits for the same period last year.
The company's bottom line was hit by the $22 million in expenses accrued in closing its print facilities in St. Petersburg, FL, South Daytona, FL, and Houston during the past three months.
The firm's print business from the financial services sector dipped 24.4 percent, the worst performance of any of its business areas. Its book publishing fell 10 percent, while catalog and magazine publishing dropped just under 2 percent.
An industrywide drop in advertising and a plummeting stock market hurt the firm during the quarter, said William Davis, CEO of the Chicago-based company.
RR Donnelley, which has 41 plants in the United States and 54 worldwide, also said yesterday that it plans to close its York, England, plant that prints telephone directories. Meanwhile, the company is deciding whether to close its Des Moines, IA, plant, a magazine and catalog printing facility.
