Gannett: 2Q Stand-Alone Profit Would Have Risen 2.3%

Gannett Co., the publishing company that recently was split from its broadcasting and digital-media arm, on Wednesday provided a picture of what second-quarter results would have looked like as a stand-alone firm.

The June quarter was the last for the combined company, which completed its split on June 29.

Net income for Gannett would have been $53.3 million, up 2.3% from a year earlier. On a per-share basis, a solo Gannett would have booked 46 cents a share in earnings, up a penny from the year-before period.

That is as lower expenses would have offset a decline in revenue.

"We are aggressively taking actions to improve the efficiency of our operations," said Chief Executive Robert Dickey in a news release. "This is an ongoing effort to help offset the declines the industry is experiencing in print advertising revenues."

During the second quarter, operating expenses would have fallen 7% to $678.1 million. The company on Wednesday lifted its cost-cutting estimate 18% to $67 million.

Revenue, Gannett said, would have slid 8.7% to $727.1 million as domestic publishing revenue declined 7%. Before restructuring effects and adjusting for currency fluctuations, overall sales would have fallen 6%, Gannett said.

The company added that it completed two acquisitions during the quarter, which will result in about $100 million in revenue over the next year. In addition, Gannett initiated a dividend of 16 cents a share, payable in September, and approved a $150 million share repurchase program.

Last week, Gannett and Tegna—the digital-media entity that remained following the separation—reported a combined second-quarter profit of $115.9 million, down from $208.5 million a year earlier. The year-ago results included a $143.5 million gain stemming from a divestiture.

Combined revenue grew 4.2% to $1.52 billion. Tegna Chief Financial Officer Victoria Harker said that if Tegna had reported second-quarter revenue as a stand-alone company, it would have reported roughly $825 million.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at [e-mail]

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