CanWest profit fueled by community newspaper sale

A $10-million profit for CanWest Global Communications Corp. last year was fuelled by the sale of more than 20 community newspapers earlier this year.

The Winnipeg-based media company reported its second-quarter profits on April 24. The $10-million profit compares favourably to a $22-million loss for the same period the previous year.

The sale of the community newspapers to Osprey Media netted CanWest a profit of $21 million. The deal itself was worth $193.5 million. The EBITDA of the papers sold in the deal at approximately $22 million. The newspapers will continue to contribute to, and receive news and editorial content from, CanWest News Service and Infomart, and to be represented in national advertising sales by CanWest Media Sales.