Gannett Executives Speak at Mid-Year Media Review
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Executives of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) today said the company is “cautious but optimistic about the outlook for the remainder” of 2002 during presentations at the Mid-Year Media Review held here this week.
“At this juncture, clearly, the worst is behind us and we are seeing progressively better results each month. The path of recovery, however, is likely to be uneven so cost controls remain in place across the company,” said Douglas H. McCorkindale, chairman, president and CEO of Gannett.
In his speech, McCorkindale said the company expects to generate diluted earnings per share “at the top end of the range we previously provided and where most analysts’ estimates currently are” — between $1.11 and $1.13.
McCorkindale also noted: “As revenue growth resumes, which we anticipate in the second half of the year, we expect to report additional gains in profits and earnings per share.”
Gary Watson, president of the Newspaper Division, said “overall advertising results have been improving steadily” at Gannett’s community newspapers. And, he said, year-to-year comparisons are more favorable for the next few months. Online revenues for Gannett’s domestic community newspapers, through May, are up 29 per cent year-over-year and the operating return on sales is 23 percent, Watson also noted.
Craig Dubow, president and CEO of Gannett Broadcasting, said the division is anticipating a strong second half with improved conditions for core business and a “very positive” environment for political advertising. He said Gannett’s television stations remain committed to the goal of being No. 1 or No. 2 in local news among adults ages 25-54 in each of their markets. “We achieve this by connecting with our local communities through our local news product and community efforts,” Dubow said.
Tom Curley, president and publisher of USA TODAY, said the national print advertising market continues to struggle, but USA TODAY is exploring relationships with new advertisers, especially in the fast food, package goods and real estate arenas. He cited yesterday’s debut of the financial markets “weather page” as an example of how the paper is reaching out to readers and new advertisers.
Speeches by the Gannett executives will be available by Webcast until July 16. The Webcast archive is accessible through www.midyearmediareview.com or through www.gannett.com.
Gannett Co., Inc. is an international news and information company that publishes 95 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns in excess of 300 non-daily publications in the USA and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. In the United Kingdom, Gannett subsidiary Newsquest plc publishes more than 300 titles, including 15 daily newspapers. Gannett also operates 22 television stations in the United States and is an Internet leader with sites sponsored by most of its TV stations and newspapers including USATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites on the Web.
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.
Gannett is not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the published date, or for changes made to this press release by wire services, Internet service providers or other media.