GCI New Gannett Co Inc

Tronc Inc., which recently changed its name from Tribune Publishing Co., raised its financial projections for the year, saying its business strategy is paying off ahead of schedule.

"Tronc's balance sheet and overall business prospects are the strongest they have been since the company went public in 2014," Chief Executive Justin Dearborn said in a news release.

The publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times newspapers, which has rebuffed a takeover bid from Gannett Co., has been overhauling its operations under Michael W. Ferro Jr., who became the company's largest shareholder and nonexecutive chairman when his Merrick Media LLC gave the company a much-needed cash infusion.

Gannett has said it would re-evaluate its position after Tronc reported second-quarter results. Gannett in a regular quarterly filing Wednesday noted that its offer was still on the table, but it was unclear if it would result in a deal.

Tronc, meanwhile, said it now projects yearly revenue of $1.61 billion to $1.63 billion, compared with its earlier view of $1.6 billion to $1.625 billion.

It expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $170 million to $175 million, up from its previous view of $166 million to $172 million.

Over all, Tronc reported a profit of $4.1 million, or 12 cents a share, up from $3.4 million, or 13 cents, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring and severance costs, profit fell to 35 cents from 42 cents a year earlier.

Operating revenue fell 2% to $404.5 million, driven by a 7% decline in advertising revenue.

It was the first reporting period under the company's new name, which stands for Tribune Online Content and is intended to evoke the 150-year-old brand's digital shift.

Circulation revenue rose 5.9% while digital revenue, which has been brought under a single segment the company calls troncX, rose 4% to $62 million.

Average monthly unique visitors reached 60 million, the company said, up 7% from the previous quarter and 34% from the year-ago period. Meanwhile, digital only subscriptions rose to 116,000, up 15% from the previous quarter.

Shares of Tronc were unchanged in after-hours trading. They had closed at $15 after hitting a 52-week-high of $15.36 earlier in the day.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 03, 2016 18:15 ET (22:15 GMT)

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