PROVIDENCE – Gannett Co., parent of The Providence Journal and other local papers, posted a $3 million loss in the first quarter of 2022. That compares with a loss of $142 million one year prior, the company reported Thursday.
Company revenue totaled $748 million for the quarter, a decline from $777 million one year prior.
“The first quarter performance was slightly ahead of our expectations and we believe we have positioned ourselves to carry this momentum throughout 2022,” said Michael Reed, Gannett chairman and CEO. “We have created solid building blocks for future growth at Gannett and, as such, we are reiterating our full year guidance for 2022. We continue to experience strong growth in digital-only circulation with five consecutive quarters of at least 40% subscriber growth and surpassing 1.75 million digital-only paid subscribers.”
Total digital revenue increased 9.7%, to $251 million, year over year, while company’s same-store revenue declined 2.5%.
“The success in these key operating pillars has allowed the company to continue its digital transformation journey with digital-only revenue accounting for more than one-third of total revenue and growth of 9% year-over-year,” Reed said. “As we continue to evolve the business, we believe we are well-positioned to generate significant free cash flow, further improve the balance sheet through debt pay down and invest in growth opportunities”
The company owns and operates several papers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, including The Providence Journal, The Taunton Gazette, The Newport Daily News, The Cape Cod Times, The Herald News in Fall River, The Worcester Telegram and The Standard-Times in New Bedford. Gannett also owns publications in nearly every state in the nation, as well as operations in the United Kingdom.
For the current quarter ending in July, Gannett said it expects revenue in the range of $780 million to $790 million.
The company expects full-year revenue in the range of $3.1 billion to $3.2 billion.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
