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TORONTO — Torstar Corp., which owns Canada’s largest circulation newspaper, predicts another challenging year after reporting a $234.5 million loss in the fourth quarter, mostly as a result of writing down the value of its newspaper businesses.

The red ink included $213.3 million of non-cash items related to asset impairments at its continuing operations. Those included $130.6 million within the Metroland Media group of smaller newspapers and $70.5 million at the Star Media group, which includes the company’s flagship Toronto Star.

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“Metroland Media Group and Star Media Group are expected to continue to face challenges in 2016 as a result of continued shift in spending by advertising,” said the company’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer, Lorenzo DeMarchi, in a conference call with investors.

Print advertising declines were moderate, he said, but it’s difficult to predict if that trend will continue this year considering the continued evolution of advertiser markets and economic volatility.