Gannett’s cost cuts to lift profits

Article Excerpt

GANNETT CO., INC. $7.59 (New York symbol GCI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector: Shares outstanding: 113.7 million; Market cap: $863.0 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 8.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.gannett.com) publishes over 100 U.S. daily newspapers and their associated websites. That includes the com pany’s flagship daily USAToday. It also has papers in the U.K., and over 200 magazines and other publications. Due to acquisitions, Gannett’s revenue in the quarter ended March 26, 2017, jumped 17.3%, to $773.5 million from $659.4 million a year earlier. If you adjust for the new operations and foreign currency rates, revenue fell 10.8%, mainly due to a 13.1% drop in revenue from print advertising. However, the company continues to expand its Internet businesses: they accounted for 30.3% of total revenue in the quarter. Excluding unusual items, earnings per share dropped 61.1%, to $0.14 from $0.36. However, the company expects its earnings will improve as it realizes more cost savings from cutting jobs, selling real estate…