For Gannett, this summer’s announcement it would split its publishing and broadcast/digital businesses into two publicly-owned companies appears to have been a boon for business.
On Monday, Gannett (GCI) reported third quarter 2014 earnings per share of $0.59 on revenue of $1.44 billion. The company is up 37 percent from the same quarter last year, where it earned $0.43 per share, and up 15 percent in revenue year-over-year.
The company reported EPS of $0.67 last quarter.
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Gannett achieved a net income of $136.3 million in Q3; a 36 percent increase compared to last year’s third quarter. The media company — which is the publisher of newspaper giants like USA Today and owner of 46 TV stations across the country — beat Wall Street expectations. Forecasters predicted EPS of about $0.54-$0.58 on revenue of $1.4 billion for the past quarter.
The company cited a boom in its broadcast and digital units as a catalyst for growth.
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“We made great progress again this quarter, both in the outstanding performance of our businesses and the continued transformation of the Gannett portfolio,” CEO Gracia Martore said in a release. “Year-over-year revenue comparisons for each of our business segments improved relative to second quarter comparisons, just as we anticipated. Double digit pro forma growth in Broadcasting revenue, which again reached a record high, was driven by robust political ad spending and retransmission revenue. Strong results at CareerBuilder resulted in a substantial increase in profitability in our Digital Segment. We also successfully completed our acquisition of Cars.com earlier this month, which paves the way for our announced separation. Cars.com is a strong company with tremendous upside that offers significant value to its growing customer base and will contribute considerably to our Digital business.”
Martore continued, “Gannett drove increases in both overall company revenue and free cash flow this quarter. As both metrics continue to grow, it gives us even greater confidence that our businesses are well positioned to compete fiercely in their respective markets. Broadcasting, Digital and Publishing are all continually innovating and expanding their product offerings, with the support of a strong balance sheet. We expect to build on our current momentum during the fourth quarter with the addition of Cars.com and the continued successful execution of our strategies.”