Gannett Executives Present to Media and Entertainment Analysts of New York
NEW YORK, NY – Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Craig Dubow and members of the company’s senior management team reported on Gannett’s strategic transformation progress and its year-to-date results at its annual presentation to the Media and Entertainment Analysts of New York today.
“We continue to take bold steps to move our company forward,” said Dubow. “To leverage our audience touch points across platforms and to grow the top line, we are fundamentally changing our approach to selling locally and nationally. In addition, we are restructuring our cost base which has, and will lead to expanding profitability and free cash flow. The result of efforts by the senior management team and our employees across the company is a Gannett that is stronger now than even a year ago. We are in a great position to pursue many opportunities to grow.”
Gannett has evolved how it gathers and delivers content to meet the needs of its diverse customer base on every platform – broadcast, digital, mobile and print, Dubow noted. He also provided an overview of the company’s first corporate brand and advertising campaign, launched earlier this month, which raises awareness of the many benefits Gannett’s powerful portfolio of brands offers.
Gracia Martore, president and chief operating officer, highlighted the company’s year-to-date results and provided a first quarter outlook.
“Certain sectors of the economy here in the U.S. are showing signs of growth and that is reflected in our results,” said Martore. “Our domestic publishing results continue to reflect strength in the auto and employment categories. Firming employment ad demand impacted our digital segment as well, resulting in significant revenue growth. Our cross-platform sales efforts continue to take hold as digital revenue company-wide was 12 percent higher through February, reflecting solid growth in publishing and broadcasting digital revenue. We expect the percentage decline of revenues in our publishing segment to be in the 6 to 7 percent range in the first quarter while total television revenue will decline a little over 2 percent, reflecting the absence of over $24 million in Olympic, political and Super Bowl spending. Excluding the incremental impact of these events, total television revenues will be up approximately 6 to 7 percent.”
Martore also provided earnings per share guidance for the first quarter. “Based on current trends, we expect to achieve the First Call consensus of first quarter earnings per share estimates of 41 cents,” said Martore. “We expect to reduce debt by approximately $150 million in the quarter and will end the first quarter with debt outstanding of approximately $2.2 billion.”
Matt Ferguson, chief executive officer of CareerBuilder, discussed the employment outlook within the U.S., the growing online recruitment market, CareerBuilder’s increased market share and U.S. traffic leadership position, as well as its international reach and growth.
The webcast presentation will be available under “Investor Relations” at www.gannett.com through April 7, 2011. A transcript of the presentation will be archived in the “Investor Relations” section of the company’s web site.
Also, the company said it will begin distributing the 2010 Annual Report and proxy statement to shareholders later today. Both the annual report and the proxy statement will be available on the company’s Web site at www.gannett.com.
Certain statements in this press release may be forward looking in nature or “forward looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward looking statements contained in this press release are subject to a number of risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual performance to differ materially from these forward looking statements. A number of those risks, trends and uncertainties are discussed in the company’s SEC reports, including the company’s annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Any forward looking statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important risk factors.
About Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is an international media and marketing solutions company that informs and engages more than 100 million people every month through its powerful network of broadcast, digital, mobile and publishing properties. Our portfolio of trusted brands offers marketers unmatched local-to-national reach and customizable, innovative marketing solutions across any platform. Gannett is committed to connecting people – and the companies who want to reach them – with their interests and communities. For more information, visit www.gannett.com.
For media inquiries, contact:
Robin Pence
Vice President, Corporate Communications
703-854-6049
rpence@gannett.com
For investor inquiries, contact:
Jeffrey Heinz
Director, Investor Relations
703-854-6917
jheinz@gannett.com