S&P cuts Washington Post's rating by one notch

NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's on Friday cut its rating on the Washington Post Co (WPO.N) by one notch, citing long-term pressures on the company's newspaper and magazine businesses.

The outlook is negative, meaning another ratings downgrade is likely over the next two years.

The company's namesake Washington Post newspaper and Newsweek magazine have been losing money amid a general drop in ad revenues at print publishers.

The Washington Post Co last month swung to a quarterly loss because of restructuring and buyout charges and reported a 33 percent drop in advertising revenue at the Post.

S&P cut the company's corporate credit rating to A, the sixth-highest investment grade, from A-plus.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are likely to decline by about 30 percent this year, significantly more than previously expected, S&P said in a statement.

EBITDA will likely grow in 2010, but revenue from the publishing businesses will remain variable for at least the next 18 months, the agency said.