Gannett, publisher of USA Today, has racked up losses of $13.6m over the fourth quarter despite beating analysts' expectations for earnings and revenue, driven south by a continued collapse in print revenues.
This contrasts unfavourably with a $24.6m profit over the same period a year ago as revenues slipped from $866.9m to $854.2m on the back of a further 18.5% year-on-year collapse in print advertising, eclipsing a 7.3% rise in digital advertising.
Meanwhile Gannett’s ReachLocal online marketing and advertising division saw revenues rise by 34.9% courtesy of strong North American growth and the migration of client s from Gannett itself.
Sharon Rowlands, chief executive officer of ReachLocal commented: “We are excited by the momentum in the ReachLocal North America business, especially with the newly migrated Gannett clients.
“In 2018, we plan to capitalize on this significant opportunity with our newly aligned sales organization, which we expect will drive revenue growth and margin improvement."
Gannett now anticipates full year revenues for 2018 to come in between $2.93bn and $3.03bn, against analyst expectations of $3.02bn.
Gannett paid $280m to acquire Milwaukee-based Journal Media Group in 2015.
