Shares Of USA Today Owner Gannett Jump More Than 7% After Q1 Earnings Beat

Shares of media and publishing company Gannett Co. Inc. were up 7.6% in premarket trade after the company reported first-quarter earnings that were above Wall Street expectations. Gannett reported a net loss of $2.1 million during the quarter, or a 2 cents loss per share, after net income of $39.6 million, or 33 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings per share were 14 cents, well above FactSet's 7 cents earnings consensus. Revenue hit $773.5 million, up from $659.4 million during the same quarter a year ago and above FactSet's consensus of $768.0 million. "Operating performance in the first quarter of 2017 trended better than our original guidance, with seasonal softness in revenues early in the year more than offset by continuing cost improvements leading to better than expected adjusted EBITDA and strong cash flow from operating activities," said Gannett Chief Executive Robert Dickey in a statement. Gannett maintained its revenue guidance for 2017, expecting it to land somewhere in the range of $3.15 billion to $3.22 billion. Shares of Gannett have declined 10.4% in the year to date and 48.2% over the last 12 months. By comparison, the S&P 500 index has gained 6.0% in the year and 13.7% in the prior 12-month period.