Exhibit 12
TRIBUNE COMPANY
COMPUTATION OF RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
(In thousands, except ratios)
Fiscal Year Ended December
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1993 1992 1991 1990 1989
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Net income (loss) before cumulative effects of accounting changes $188,606 $136,625 $141,981 ($63,533) $242,421
Add:
Income tax expense (benefit) 143,821 96,266 99,894 (30,695) 168,463
Losses on equity investments 20,212 1,903 1,107 2,285 2,221
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Sub-total 352,639 234,794 242,982 (91,943) 413,105
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Fixed charge adjustments
Add:
Interest expense 24,660 49,254 63,083 53,576 47,866
Amortization of capitalized interest 2,392 5,304 5,258 4,850 4,098
Interest component of rental expense (A) 8,732 9,329 9,047 14,467 12,333
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Earnings (loss), as adjusted $388,423 $298,681 $320,370 ($19,050) $477,402
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Fixed charges:
Interest expense $ 24,660 $ 49,254 $ 63,083 $ 53,576 $ 47,866
Interest capitalized 1,099 3,445 1,976 8,652 13,614
Interest component of rental expense (A) 8,732 9,329 9,047 14,467 12,333
Interest related to guaranteed ESOP debt (B) 25,742 27,019 27,500 27,757 20,508
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Total fixed charges $ 60,233 $ 89,047 $101,606 $104,452 $ 94,321
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Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges 6.4 3.4 3.2 (C) 5.1
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(A) Represents a portion of rental expense incurred by the Company, which is a
reasonable approximation of the interest cost component of such expense.
(B) Tribune Company guarantees the debt of its Employee Stock Ownership Plan
(ESOP).
(C) The net loss for 1990 reflects an after-tax non-recurring loss of $185
million ($295 million before income taxes) relating to the sale of the New
York Daily News. Excluding this non-recurring item, the ratio for 1990 was
2.6. As a result of the loss incurred for the full-year 1990, the Company
was unable to cover the indicated fixed charges. The Company's loss, as
adjusted, plus the indicated fixed charges for 1990 totaled $124 million.