Gannett, owner of USA TODAY and 109 local media properties, on Monday reported a continued decline in overall revenue but pointed to a pickup in its marketing services and increased digital subscriptions as positive contributors to its bottom line.
Gannett's third-quarter earnings results were released as the company awaits shareholder approval to combine with New Media Investment Group.
That deal is expected to close shortly after shareholders vote Nov. 14. At that point, New Media Investment Group, which is the smaller company but is the acquirer, will rename itself Gannett and shift to the current Gannett headquarters in McLean, Virginia.
Gannett's total print advertising declined 20.8% to $161.6 million as the company continued to grapple with forces that are roiling the media industry. Digital advertising and marketing services revenue declined 5.2% to $100.3 million, though that included an 11.1% increase in digital marketing services revenue on a "same-store" basis to $22.2 million.
"We expect continued improvement within our digital advertising and marketing services revenues as we head into the fourth quarter," recently appointed CEO Paul Bascobert said in a statement.
The company lowered its standalone revenue forecast for 2019 to a range of $2.61 billion to $2.63 billion, down from a previous projection of $2.74 billion to $2.81 billion.
On Thursday, New Media reported a net loss of $18.5 million. That figure included $12.1 million in costs associated with the company's deal to acquire Gannett.
The combination of New Media and Gannett would create the largest American media company by newspaper circulation and potentially the largest by total digital audience.
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