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 lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com
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