Three numbers that will tell the tale for Postmedia

Postmedia will releases its latest quarterly results Thursday.

Here are three numbers that will tell if the company is making any progress toward a viable future.

Revenue: The amount of money the company takes in has been plunging since Paul Godfrey and hedge funds bought Canwest’s assets. Nothing can save the company unless the freefall is arrested. 

Revenue will still be lower than the previous year, but unless the rate of decline slows to five per cent or lower, there is little hope.

Digital revenue: Postmedia’s digital strategies have fizzled, and managers have come and gone. The company needs to show some sort of digital revenue growth - at least four per cent.

Digital subscribers: A key element of the corporation’s strategy is getting readers to pay more for the content. It hopes tablet editions will help, but the current indicator is digital subscribers. Last quarter, Postmedia said 135,000 people have registered for access to newspaper websites. But it refuses to say how many are paying customers, and how many are subscribers registering for free access.

If the strategy is working, that number should increase to at least 150,000.

The quarterly will present information on cost-cutting and restructuring. But revenue losses - 17 per cent in the last two fiscal years - have far outstripped expense reductions. 

Unless the company can find a way at least to slow the loss of revenue, its future is bleak.