UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-Q [X] QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the quarterly period ended: March 31, 2003 Or [ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURIIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to -------------- -------------- Commission File Number: 0-7832 --------------------------------------- JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST ---------------------------------------------------- (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) WISCONSIN 39-6153189 ------------------------------ ------------------ (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 333 W. State Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203 ------------------------------------------- -------- (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) 414-224-2728 -------------------------------------------------- Registrant's telephone number, including area code Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes X No ----- ----- Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act) Yes No X ----- ----- Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer's classes of common stock, as of May 2, 2003: Class Outstanding at May 2, 2003 Units of Beneficial Interest 25,920,000* * 2,884,263 of which were held by Journal Communications, Inc. in treasury 1 JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST INDEX Page No. -------- Part I. Financial Information Item 1. Financial Statements Statements of Financial Position As of March 31, 2003 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2002 3 Unaudited Statements of Trust Activity First Quarter ended March 31, 2003 and 2002 4 Unaudited Statements of Cash Flows First Quarter ended March 31, 2003 and 2002 5 Notes to Financial Statements March 31, 2003 6 Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 8 Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk 8 Item 4. Controls and Procedures 8 Part II. Other Information Items 1-4. 8 Items 5-6. 9 2 PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST Statements of Financial Position March 31, 2003 December 31, 2002 -------------- ----------------- (Unaudited) Assets $ -- $ -- =============== ================= Liabilities and Stock Trust Equity $ -- $ -- =============== ================= See notes to financial statements. 3 JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST Unaudited Statements of Trust Activity (in thousands, except per share amounts) First Quarter Ended March 31 ---------------------------- 2003 2002 -------- -------- Dividends on common stock of Journal Communications, Inc. held by the Stock Trust $ 6,911 $ 7,079 ========== ========== Dividends to holders of units of beneficial interest $ 6,636 $ 7,079 Distributions in lieu of dividends to holders of units of beneficial interest 275 -- ---------- ---------- $ 6,911 $ 7,079 ========== ========== Dividends per share $ 0.30 $ 0.30 ========== ========== See notes to financial statements. 4 JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST Unaudited Statements of Cash Flows (in thousands) First Quarter Ended March 31 ---------------------------- 2003 2002 -------- -------- Sources of cash: Receipts from purchasers of units of beneficial interest $ -- $ 94,854 Dividends received from Journal Communications, Inc. 6,911 7,079 ---------- ----------- $ 6,911 $ 101,933 Uses of cash: Disbursements to sellers of units of beneficial interest -- (94,854) Dividends paid to holders of units of beneficial interest (6,636) (7,079) Distributions in lieu of dividends to holders of units of beneficial interest (275) -- ---------- ----------- $ (6,911) $ (101,933) Net change in cash $ -- $ -- Cash at beginning of year -- -- ---------- ----------- Cash at March 31, 2003 and 2002 $ -- $ -- ---------- ----------- See notes to financial statements. 5 JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST Notes to Financial Statements Quarter ended March 31, 2003 1. Organization The primary business of Journal Employees' Stock Trust (the Stock Trust) is being the holder of record of certain shares of common stock of Journal Communications, Inc. (the Company), the issuance of, record keeping and transactions in units of beneficial interest (units) that represent shares of common stock of the Company owned by the Stock Trust, voting (including issuance and tabulation of unitholder proxies) of the common stock of the Company owned by the Stock Trust, and such other matters as are specified in the Journal Employees Stock Trust Agreement, dated May 15, 1937, as amended (the Trust Agreement). The Stock Trust is administered by five trustees who are currently officers and directors of the Company and receive no remuneration for services performed for the Stock Trust. The trustees are required to distribute all Stock Trust income (consisting solely of dividends paid by the Company), less such amounts as the trustees deem necessary for payment of administrative expenses, as soon as practicable after receipt. Since its origination, substantially all expenses of the Stock Trust have been paid by the Company, and cash dividends payable to the Stock Trust have been paid by the Company directly to the employees and former employees who own units (unitholders). 2. Common Stock of the Company The Stock Trust is the holder of record of 90% of the Company's common stock. The Stock Trust has issued one unit for each share of common stock which the Stock Trust holds. 3. Suspension of Purchase and Sale of Units On October 25, 2002, the Company's board of directors directed management and the Company's financial adviser to explore potential sources for additional permanent capital for the Company. The Company indicated at that time that it expected the process could take from six to nine months. As a result, the Company suspended the purchase and sale of units under the Trust Agreement while the Company explores additional permanent capital. 4. Unitholders' Sales of Units of Beneficial Interest Unitholders may offer to sell their units only in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Trust Agreement, which provides four classes of optionees the right to elect to purchase units offered for sale. Units sold to the Company are sold at the option price in effect on the date of the sale. The Company, as one of the optionees under the Trust Agreement, is not obligated to purchase units, though in recent years for the convenience of unitholders, it has elected to do so. There is no assurance the Company will elect to buy units offered for sale in the future. For the past few years until the October 25, 2002 suspension of purchasing and selling of units, the Company had elected to offer units owned by the Company for sale to eligible Company employees through a rotation system. 6 JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST Notes to Financial Statements 5. Distributions in Lieu of Dividends During Suspension of Trading The Trust Agreement provides that a unitholder will receive the unit price for units subject to an option event when they are sold, plus either (i) interest at the rate set by the trustees if other unitholders or the Grant family shareholders ultimately buy the units subject to the option event, or (ii) the dividends declared by the Company's Board of Directors if the Company ultimately buys the units subject to the option event. The Company suspended the purchase and sales of units on October 25, 2002; however, option events still occur pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement (for example, when a unitholder leaves employment of the Company). As a result, it cannot be determined who will purchase units subject to option events during the suspension period (and, similarly, it cannot be determined whether the unitholder whose units are subject to an option event during the suspension period will eventually receive interest or dividends). In order to avoid inconvenience to unitholders that may result from the delay in paying either interest or dividends during the suspension period, the trustees have determined that the Stock Trust will make payments to unitholders whose units become subject to option events during the suspension period in an amount equal to the dividends paid by the Company during this period. When the units are eventually sold, the unitholder will receive the sale proceeds calculated in accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement, less the amount of these payments. These payments in the first quarter ended March 31, 2003 totaled $275,409. 6. Common Stock Held and Units Outstanding At March 31, 2003 and December 31, 2002, the Stock Trust held 25,920,000 shares of the Company's common stock and has issued a like number of units of beneficial interest. 7 JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS Distributable stock trust income is based solely on dividends from Journal Communications, Inc. ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE OF MARKET RISK None. ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES The Stock Trust carried out an evaluation, within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report, under the supervision and with the participation of certain of the Trustees of the Stock Trust, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Stock Trust's disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(c) and 15d-14(c). Based on that evaluation, they concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Stock Trust's Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to them to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. There have been no significant changes in the Stock Trust's internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect these controls subsequent to the date of their evaluation. PART II. OTHER INFORMATION ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS None. ITEM 2. CHANGES IN SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS None. ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES None. ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS None. 8 JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION The primary business of the Stock Trust is being the holder of record of certain shares of common stock of the Company, the issuance of, record keeping and transactions in units that represent shares of common stock of the Company owned by the Stock Trust, voting (including issuance and tabulation of unitholder proxies) of the common stock of the Company owned by the Stock Trust, and such other matters as are specified in the Trust Agreement. The Company files annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC, some of which contain information about the Company and its operations. SEC filings of the Company are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. You may read and copy any filed document at the SEC's public reference rooms in Washington, D.C. at 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Judiciary Plaza, Washington, D.C. 20549, and at the SEC's regional offices in New York, New York and Chicago, Illinois. ITEM 6. EXHIBITS AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K a) Exhibits Exhibit No. Description ---------- ----------- 99.1 Written Statement of the Trustee (Steven J. Smith) with respect to compliance with Section 13(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. 99.2 Written Statement of the Trustee (Paul M. Bonaiuto) with respect to compliance with Section 13(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. b) Reports on Form 8-K The Stock Trust did not file any report on Form 8-K during the period covered by this quarterly report. Signatures Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. Date: May 6, 2003 By: /s/ Steven J. Smith -------------------------------- Steven J. Smith Trustee Date: May 6, 2003 By: /s/ Paul M. Bonaiuto -------------------------------- Paul M. Bonaiuto Trustee 9 JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST CERTIFICATIONS I, Steven J. Smith, certify that: 1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Journal Employees Stock Trust; 2. Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this quarterly report; 3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this quarterly report; 4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and we have: a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this quarterly report is being prepared; b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this quarterly report (the "Evaluation Date"); and c) presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date; 5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent function): a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data and have identified for the registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in internal controls; and b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal controls; and 6. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in this quarterly report whether or not there were significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses. Date May 6, 2003 /s/ Steven J. Smith ---------------------------- --------------------------- Steven J. Smith Trustee 10 JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST I, Paul M. Bonaiuto, certify that: 1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Journal Employees Stock Trust; 2. Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this quarterly report; 3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this quarterly report; 4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and we have: a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this quarterly report is being prepared; b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this quarterly report (the "Evaluation Date"); and c) presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date; 5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent function): a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data and have identified for the registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in internal controls; and b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal controls; and 6. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in this quarterly report whether or not there were significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses. Date May 6, 2003 /s/ Paul M. Bonaiuto ------------------------- --------------------------- Paul M. Bonaiuto Trustee 11