Mecom, the European newspaper publisher most prolific in Denmark, Norway, Poland and the Netherlands, released its online paid content strategy today along with dismal fourth quarter results. Despite a total 28 percent fall in profits for 2009, David Montgomery, Mecom's chief executive, is optimistic about the company's future.

"This last year has been an advertising crisis, not a newspaper crisis," he was quoted as saying, going on to emphasize the need for more online advertising revenue.

Montgomery's outlook is reflected in their pay strategy, which aims to increase revenue from paid online content and online advertisements by 100 million euros over the next three years. In addition, Mecom hopes to increase unique users on its websites by about 20 percent by the end of 2012, vastly increasing its current unique usership of 32 million.

Mecom's plan comes in the wake not only of large profit losses but also considerable debt, amounting to 373 million euros at the end of 2009. Although this was an improvement from their initial debt in 2008 of 682 million euros, a loss of 18 percent of advertising revenues and 11 percent of digital revenues during the past year made it difficult for the company to cut costs.

But the deep declines in revenue have slowed, and the economies of many of the countries in which Mecom has publications have begun to improve. Montgomery considers these to be positive signs that the company can further cut debt and increase profits over the next three years.

He has remarkable faith in the print industry, amidst many other executives already lamenting the death of printed media.

"We do not know when European print advertising markets will recover - but as they do, we will benefit from growth in our traditional advertising," he was quoted as saying.

Hopefully, Montgomery's optimistic outlook will hold true--not just for Mecom's sake, but for the sake of many companies suffering just like it.

Sources: PaidContent, Reuters