Gannett Narrows Profit in 3Q Amid Advertising Declines

Shares of Gannett (NYSE:GCI) tumbled nearly 8% Monday morning after the media giant revealed a weaker third-quarter profit that just matched Wall Street expectations as advertising continued to decline in its broadcasting and publishing segments.

The McLean, Va.-based publisher posted net earnings of $99.8 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with $101.4 million, or 42 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Excluding one-time restructuring costs, the company earned 44 cents a share, matching average analyst estimates polled by Thomson Reuters. Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 25 was $1.27 billion, down about 3.5% from $1.3 billion a year ago, also matching the Street’s view.

Sales were weaker in its broadcasting segment due to significantly lower advertising compared with the year-earlier period, as well as a decline in publishing segment advertising revenues.

Partially offsetting those decreases was a 10% year-over- year increase in digital revenues, led by increased traffic and sales at its jobs web site CareerBuilder.

“These results, amid continued market volatility, reflect the strength of Gannett’s iconic local and national brands and our relentless commitment to continuously enhancing the news, information and services we offer every day to the communities we serve,” newly appointed Gannett CEO Gracia Martore said in a statement.

Martore replaced Craig Dubow who had to retire suddenly earlier this month to address continuing issues related to prior medical conditions.