Gannett Posts Second Straight Profit

Gannett, the owner of USA TODAY, posted a second straight quarterly profit as the company's digital subscription strategy gained momentum.

The media company, which also owns more than 200 other daily publications as well as several hundred weeklies, reported net income of $15 million for the period ended Sept. 30.

The earnings report came after Gannett in the second quarter posted its first profit since the 2019 merger of New Media Investment Group and the company formerly known as Gannett.

In the third quarter of 2021, Gannett recorded total revenue of $800.2 million, down 1.8% from a year earlier. On a comparable basis – a figure representing continuing operations – revenue rose 0.9%.

Gannett has been grappling with the industry-wide challenge of declining print revenue for years but has been recently increasing its paid digital subscriptions.

Digital subscriptions, which are viewed as crucial to creating a path for growth, rose 46% to more than 1.5 million at the end of the third quarter. That led to a 26.6% jump in digital-only circulation revenue to $25.7 million.

Gannett Chairman and CEO Michael Reed said in January that the company had set a goal of securing 10 million digital subscriptions within five years. That target includes subscriptions from USA TODAY, which launched paid digital access for premium content earlier this year.

On a comparable basis, circulation revenue fell 8.2%, while advertising and marketing services revenue rose 5%. Digital sales totaled $265 million, up 17.8%.