Torstar tries a new digital strategy

Article Excerpt

TORSTAR CORP. $7.07 (Toronto symbol TS.B; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 80.1 million; Market cap: $566.3 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 7.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.torstar.com) gets 60% of its revenue from advertising on its newspapers and their websites, including The Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily by circulation. Subscriptions account for most of the remaining 40%. As part of a new strategy to increase online ad sales, Torstar plans to drop the paywall on The Toronto Star’s website and launch a new version for tablet computers. The shift will likely hurt its 2015 revenue but should attract more readers. The company is debt-free and holds cash of $277.3 million, or $3.46 a share. That will help it adjust to the new online strategy. In addition, dividends total roughly $42 million a year, so the current payout still seems safe. …