Gannett (GCI) Updates on Business Ops; Sees Q4 EPS Above Street
Tweet
Share
E-mailGet Alerts GCI Hot Sheet
Price: $4.55 --0%
Financial Fact:
Earnings from continuing operations per share - basic: 0.55
Today's EPS Names:
BTTX, VAXX, ELYS, More
Financial Fact:
Earnings from continuing operations per share - basic: 0.55
Today's EPS Names:
BTTX, VAXX, ELYS, More
Join SI Premium – FREE
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) executives at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference today provided updates on each of the company's business segments and provided highlights of how the company continues to position itself for growth in the digital era.
Gracia Martore, Gannett president and CEO, discussed the substantial progress made on the company's new business strategy and capital allocation plan that is designed to put Gannett on a growth trajectory.
"We are transforming the company by harnessing our powerful local brands, national scale and financial strength and are on the offensive to further enhance our position in the rapidly evolving digital world," said Martore. "Our plan is bold, ambitious and doable, with our goal to return Gannett to sustainable revenue growth, increase profitability and deliver greater shareholder value. We have moved ahead quickly on many fronts and are making excellent progress in positioning Gannett to deliver an annual revenue growth rate in the range of 2 to 4 percent over the long term."
To accomplish its goals, the company launched a series of initiatives, which included rolling out a new content subscription model in the company's local domestic publishing markets and a suite of Digital Marketing Services products in the company's top publishing and broadcast markets.
Bob Dickey, president of U.S. Community Publishing (USCP), said the full-access content subscription model is now fully deployed in 78 local publishing markets, giving subscribers access to content across a variety of digital and print platforms. "Early results indicate we are solidly on the right track," said Dickey.
Thus far, USCP is seeing subscription revenue growth of 21 percent on average, depending on timing of launch. The division expects subscription revenue increases of about 25 percent by the end of 2013, compared to pre-launch levels, and a contribution of $100 million to operating income.
Dave Lougee, president of Gannett Broadcasting, said the division will have a record-breaking year in 2012 with strong revenues and profits, along with significant share growth. On the revenue side, the Broadcasting division put a yearlong sales transformation process in place and finished the Olympics with a record $37 million in Olympic billing, up 58 percent from the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Gannett Broadcasting also had a record year in political advertising, with a total of $150 million in political revenue. In addition, retransmission consent fees are expected to increase to $135 million to $140 million in 2013, up over 40 percent from 2012. Retransmission revenue in 2012 will finish at $96 million, 20 percent above 2011. While the increase in retransmission revenue in 2013 will be significant, it is not expected to completely offset record 2012 political and Olympic revenue.
In the digital segment, CareerBuilder continues to perform exceptionally well, delivering strong results and expanding market share in a tepid employment environment. Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, and his team have built CareerBuilder into the industry leader and are moving quickly on many fronts to ensure leadership in North America and in a number of international markets. CareerBuilder made a game-changing move in online recruitment by acquiring Economic Modeling Specialists Intl., which specializes in employment data and labor market analysis.
Company wide digital revenues are expected to reach $1.3 billion this year, a 19 percent increase from 2011.
Victoria Harker, chief financial officer, reviewed progress during the year toward the company's goals and some key operating assumptions for 2013.
"All told, across all segments, we expect total revenues to be up over 5 percent in the fourth quarter, continuing the upward trend we have experienced all year, with accelerating pace. This reinforces the investment return expectations we had previously projected," said Harker.
"As a reminder, our results for the fourth quarter will be impacted by an extra week. The First Call consensus of earnings per share estimates is 85 cents which includes the extra week. Based on current trends, we now expect earnings to be 87 to 88 cents, including the extra week, which will contribute about 2 to 3 cents to EPS in the fourth quarter," said Harker.
*** The Street sees Q4 EPS of 85 cents (as mentioned above).
Gracia Martore, Gannett president and CEO, discussed the substantial progress made on the company's new business strategy and capital allocation plan that is designed to put Gannett on a growth trajectory.
"We are transforming the company by harnessing our powerful local brands, national scale and financial strength and are on the offensive to further enhance our position in the rapidly evolving digital world," said Martore. "Our plan is bold, ambitious and doable, with our goal to return Gannett to sustainable revenue growth, increase profitability and deliver greater shareholder value. We have moved ahead quickly on many fronts and are making excellent progress in positioning Gannett to deliver an annual revenue growth rate in the range of 2 to 4 percent over the long term."
To accomplish its goals, the company launched a series of initiatives, which included rolling out a new content subscription model in the company's local domestic publishing markets and a suite of Digital Marketing Services products in the company's top publishing and broadcast markets.
Bob Dickey, president of U.S. Community Publishing (USCP), said the full-access content subscription model is now fully deployed in 78 local publishing markets, giving subscribers access to content across a variety of digital and print platforms. "Early results indicate we are solidly on the right track," said Dickey.
Thus far, USCP is seeing subscription revenue growth of 21 percent on average, depending on timing of launch. The division expects subscription revenue increases of about 25 percent by the end of 2013, compared to pre-launch levels, and a contribution of $100 million to operating income.
Dave Lougee, president of Gannett Broadcasting, said the division will have a record-breaking year in 2012 with strong revenues and profits, along with significant share growth. On the revenue side, the Broadcasting division put a yearlong sales transformation process in place and finished the Olympics with a record $37 million in Olympic billing, up 58 percent from the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Gannett Broadcasting also had a record year in political advertising, with a total of $150 million in political revenue. In addition, retransmission consent fees are expected to increase to $135 million to $140 million in 2013, up over 40 percent from 2012. Retransmission revenue in 2012 will finish at $96 million, 20 percent above 2011. While the increase in retransmission revenue in 2013 will be significant, it is not expected to completely offset record 2012 political and Olympic revenue.
In the digital segment, CareerBuilder continues to perform exceptionally well, delivering strong results and expanding market share in a tepid employment environment. Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, and his team have built CareerBuilder into the industry leader and are moving quickly on many fronts to ensure leadership in North America and in a number of international markets. CareerBuilder made a game-changing move in online recruitment by acquiring Economic Modeling Specialists Intl., which specializes in employment data and labor market analysis.
Company wide digital revenues are expected to reach $1.3 billion this year, a 19 percent increase from 2011.
Victoria Harker, chief financial officer, reviewed progress during the year toward the company's goals and some key operating assumptions for 2013.
"All told, across all segments, we expect total revenues to be up over 5 percent in the fourth quarter, continuing the upward trend we have experienced all year, with accelerating pace. This reinforces the investment return expectations we had previously projected," said Harker.
"As a reminder, our results for the fourth quarter will be impacted by an extra week. The First Call consensus of earnings per share estimates is 85 cents which includes the extra week. Based on current trends, we now expect earnings to be 87 to 88 cents, including the extra week, which will contribute about 2 to 3 cents to EPS in the fourth quarter," said Harker.
*** The Street sees Q4 EPS of 85 cents (as mentioned above).
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- Is the global equity rally broadening? UBS weighs in
- Morgan Stanley Downgrades PWR Holdings Ltd. (PWH:AU) to Equalweight
- UBS Upgrades Apollo Tyres (APTY:IN) to Buy
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
Guidance, Hot GuidanceRelated Entities
UBS, EarningsSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
