- Gannett reported first quarter earnings of 93 cents per share, up from 91 cents in the first quarter of 2002.
- Newspaper advertising revenues rose 4% despite weakness in March due to geopolitical uncertainty and the war. Non-daily revenues grew 14%.
- Broadcast revenues declined due to tough comparisons from Olympics coverage in 2002 and war impacts in March 2003.
- Gannett acquired the publishing assets of Scottish Media Group and several weekly newspapers in the UK. It also formed a newspaper partnership in Texas and New Mexico.
- While visibility remains limited, pacings have improved since late March though continue to be volatile. Gannett expects continued economic growth this year barring external factors.
Gannett reported second quarter earnings of $1.20 per share, a 6% increase over the prior year. Newspaper advertising revenues rose 3% domestically and Newsquest revenues were up 3% in pounds in the UK. Television revenues increased 1% despite lower political spending. Cash costs rose over 6% including acquisitions, but on a pro forma basis excluding acquisitions costs rose around 3% reflecting commercial printing growth and currency impacts. July advertising trends were mixed with television pacings slightly below prior year when adjusting for large political spending last year. Near-term outlook remained cautious due to economic uncertainty.
- Gannett reported earnings of $1.03 per share for Q3 2003, a 4% increase over the previous year and a new record. Revenue was also up 4% for the quarter.
- Newspaper advertising revenue increased 6% overall and 3% on a pro forma basis excluding recent acquisitions. Local advertising was up 1% helped by strong performance from Newsquest properties.
- Classified revenues were up 4% overall. Employment classifieds, while down 5% overall, showed signs of improvement with a smaller decline each month of the quarter. Real estate and automotive classifieds grew 10% and 2% respectively.
Gannett reported record fourth quarter and full year 2003 results, with EPS of $1.31 for the quarter and $4.46 for the year. Newspaper advertising revenues grew 10% for the quarter, boosted by acquisitions. Pro forma local advertising grew 4% for the quarter. Non-daily products and online revenues increased strongly. Newsquest in the UK delivered excellent results. First quarter 2004 television pacings are up low to mid single digits over prior year. Gannett remains optimistic about 2004 results with the addition of the Olympics and political advertising.
- Gannett reported earnings of $1 per share for the first quarter of 2004, above the forecast of 99 cents. Revenue increased 11.4% year-over-year for the quarter.
- Advertising revenues rose across newspaper, television, and online segments. National and classified advertising saw particularly strong growth.
- Costs increased due to factors such as healthcare costs, commissions on higher sales, and the mix of recent acquisitions. Operating margins may be slightly down for newspapers in 2004 compared to 2003.
- The outlook for the second quarter is positive with pacings in the high-single digits, though volatility remains. Gannett expects continued growth over 2003 assuming no major external factors.
This document provides the transcript from Gannett Co.'s first quarter 2005 earnings conference call on April 14, 2005. The call discusses Gannett's financial results for the first quarter, including a 5% increase in earnings per share. Advertising revenues were up for newspapers and USA Today, while broadcasting revenues declined due to lack of political advertising. Auto advertising remained soft across all platforms. While March newspaper advertising was weaker than expected, overall results were solid.
- Gannett reported second quarter earnings of $1.30 per share, at the high end of guidance and a new record. Revenues increased nearly 10% driven by strong newspaper revenue growth and political spending.
- Local advertising rose almost 6% led by a 23.3% increase in employment classifieds. National advertising at USA Today was up 15.5%. Non-daily publications and online revenues continued double-digit growth.
- Gannett authorized an additional $1 billion for share repurchases, believing the stock is very attractive at current price levels. Management expects to opportunistically execute on the $1.7 billion authorization.
This document provides a summary of Gannett Co., Inc.'s fourth quarter and full year 2004 conference call with investors. In the call, Gracia Martore, CFO, discussed key financial results including EPS of $1.47 for Q4 and $4.92 for the full year. She noted solid performances across advertising categories in newspapers and record political advertising for broadcasting. Doug McCorkindale, CEO, stated that most advertising categories grew except for automotive. He discussed continued growth in online revenues and non-daily publications. In the question and answer period, details were provided about TV station revenues, directories, and the Hometown acquisition review by the Justice Department.
- Gannett reported first quarter earnings of $0.99 per share, consistent with prior guidance but down from $1.03 per share in the first quarter of 2005.
- Revenue growth at community newspapers was offset by softness in the UK market. Broadcasting saw record revenues due to the Winter Olympics.
- Several one-time factors impacted expenses, including expensing of stock options and changes in newspaper partnerships. Excluding these items, costs increased only 0.6% overall and less than 1% for newspapers.
Gannett reported second quarter earnings of $1.20 per share, a 6% increase over the prior year. Newspaper advertising revenues rose 3% domestically and Newsquest revenues were up 3% in pounds in the UK. Television revenues increased 1% despite lower political spending. Cash costs rose over 6% including acquisitions, but on a pro forma basis excluding acquisitions costs rose around 3% reflecting commercial printing growth and currency impacts. July advertising trends were mixed with television pacings slightly below prior year when adjusting for large political spending last year. Near-term outlook remained cautious due to economic uncertainty.
- Gannett reported earnings of $1.03 per share for Q3 2003, a 4% increase over the previous year and a new record. Revenue was also up 4% for the quarter.
- Newspaper advertising revenue increased 6% overall and 3% on a pro forma basis excluding recent acquisitions. Local advertising was up 1% helped by strong performance from Newsquest properties.
- Classified revenues were up 4% overall. Employment classifieds, while down 5% overall, showed signs of improvement with a smaller decline each month of the quarter. Real estate and automotive classifieds grew 10% and 2% respectively.
Gannett reported record fourth quarter and full year 2003 results, with EPS of $1.31 for the quarter and $4.46 for the year. Newspaper advertising revenues grew 10% for the quarter, boosted by acquisitions. Pro forma local advertising grew 4% for the quarter. Non-daily products and online revenues increased strongly. Newsquest in the UK delivered excellent results. First quarter 2004 television pacings are up low to mid single digits over prior year. Gannett remains optimistic about 2004 results with the addition of the Olympics and political advertising.
- Gannett reported earnings of $1 per share for the first quarter of 2004, above the forecast of 99 cents. Revenue increased 11.4% year-over-year for the quarter.
- Advertising revenues rose across newspaper, television, and online segments. National and classified advertising saw particularly strong growth.
- Costs increased due to factors such as healthcare costs, commissions on higher sales, and the mix of recent acquisitions. Operating margins may be slightly down for newspapers in 2004 compared to 2003.
- The outlook for the second quarter is positive with pacings in the high-single digits, though volatility remains. Gannett expects continued growth over 2003 assuming no major external factors.
This document provides the transcript from Gannett Co.'s first quarter 2005 earnings conference call on April 14, 2005. The call discusses Gannett's financial results for the first quarter, including a 5% increase in earnings per share. Advertising revenues were up for newspapers and USA Today, while broadcasting revenues declined due to lack of political advertising. Auto advertising remained soft across all platforms. While March newspaper advertising was weaker than expected, overall results were solid.
- Gannett reported second quarter earnings of $1.30 per share, at the high end of guidance and a new record. Revenues increased nearly 10% driven by strong newspaper revenue growth and political spending.
- Local advertising rose almost 6% led by a 23.3% increase in employment classifieds. National advertising at USA Today was up 15.5%. Non-daily publications and online revenues continued double-digit growth.
- Gannett authorized an additional $1 billion for share repurchases, believing the stock is very attractive at current price levels. Management expects to opportunistically execute on the $1.7 billion authorization.
This document provides a summary of Gannett Co., Inc.'s fourth quarter and full year 2004 conference call with investors. In the call, Gracia Martore, CFO, discussed key financial results including EPS of $1.47 for Q4 and $4.92 for the full year. She noted solid performances across advertising categories in newspapers and record political advertising for broadcasting. Doug McCorkindale, CEO, stated that most advertising categories grew except for automotive. He discussed continued growth in online revenues and non-daily publications. In the question and answer period, details were provided about TV station revenues, directories, and the Hometown acquisition review by the Justice Department.
- Gannett reported first quarter earnings of $0.99 per share, consistent with prior guidance but down from $1.03 per share in the first quarter of 2005.
- Revenue growth at community newspapers was offset by softness in the UK market. Broadcasting saw record revenues due to the Winter Olympics.
- Several one-time factors impacted expenses, including expensing of stock options and changes in newspaper partnerships. Excluding these items, costs increased only 0.6% overall and less than 1% for newspapers.
The document summarizes Gannett Co.'s second quarter 2006 earnings conference call. Craig Dubow, Chairman, President and CEO, discussed Gannett's strategic focus on local content and building its digital business. He noted revenue growth in community newspapers and broadcasting. Gracia Martore, CFO, provided financial details, noting factors impacting reported results and growth in advertising revenues. Overall, the document recapped Gannett's financial performance and strategic initiatives discussed on the earnings call.
Gannett Co., Inc. held a first quarter 2008 earnings conference call to discuss their financial results with analysts. Craig Dubow, Chairman, President and CEO, and Gracia Martore, Executive Vice President and CFO, presented on the company's transformation efforts and performance in the challenging economic environment. Key points included a 10% decline in newspaper advertising revenue, continued weakness in real estate and employment classifieds, cost cutting measures resulting in a 7% expense decline, and a focus on growing digital revenues.
Gannett Co., Inc. held a conference call to discuss their fourth quarter and full year 2008 results. Craig Dubow, Chairman, President and CEO, provided an overview of Gannett's efforts to manage costs and innovate during the economic downturn. Some highlights included transforming their operations in Detroit to a digital-focused model, developing a content management system to share content across properties, and acquiring a social media company. Gracia Martore, EVP and CFO, discussed the financial results in more detail, noting declines in advertising revenue across segments due to economic conditions. She also outlined a planned goodwill impairment charge of $5.1-5.9 billion related to declines in business values.
Gannett Co., Inc. held a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2005 earnings. Gracia Martore, the CFO, noted that fourth quarter earnings were at the high end of guidance. Full year earnings per share were up slightly compared to 2004. Martore discussed factors impacting results such as the consolidation of Detroit Newspapers and currency exchange rates. Craig Dubow, President and CEO, provided details on segment results, noting growth in classified and real estate advertising, while auto remained soft. Online revenues increased nearly 60% for the quarter. The company is optimistic about opportunities in 2006.
- The San Francisco housing market remains very competitive, with sale prices continuing to exceed listing prices. The median home price was over $1,000,000 for the second month in a row.
- The real estate market is still in the recovery stage of the cycle, as seen by declining foreclosures, low inventory, and low mortgage rates. The recovery is expected to continue for the next few years.
- Both home and condo sale prices rose year-over-year in March. The median home price was up 5.3% while the median condo price set a new record at $970,000, up 17% from the previous year.
- The document analyzes the current market condition of Warner Music Group (WMG) and the music industry, which has been negatively impacted by COVID-19 with projected earnings down 29% for 2020.
- WMG relies heavily on touring and live music income, which has been halted by the pandemic, limiting sources of income to mainly streaming sales. However, vinyl record sales have increased in recent years and could provide an opportunity for additional profits.
- Recommendations include increasing marketing of vinyl record releases from WMG artists to target audiences aged 18-25 to help offset losses from the pandemic's impact on the music industry.
Annie Williams Market Trends Aug-Sept 2014Jon Weaver
- Home and condo sales were down in San Francisco in July compared to the previous year. The median home price rose 20.6% to $1,073,500 while the median condo price grew 9.8% to $944,500.
- The local real estate market continues to struggle with low inventory. There are only around 240 homes currently on the market, which is less than one month of sales. The lack of inventory is hindering market activity.
- Mortgage rates rose slightly in August after comments from the Federal Reserve signaled the central bank may start raising rates sooner than previously expected. However, rates remain low historically and global economic uncertainties are keeping further increases at bay for now.
Gannett held a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2008 earnings results. Gracia Martore, the CFO, introduced Craig Dubow, the CEO, to provide an overview of Gannett's strategic initiatives and financial performance. Dubow discussed Gannett's plans to grow its digital business while enhancing its core newspaper and television operations. He outlined several recent investments and partnerships that will allow Gannett to better serve advertisers across its digital properties. However, Dubow noted the results were impacted by the challenging economy in both the US and UK. Preliminary earnings per share were $1.02 but will be reduced by impairment charges. More details on the financials would be provided later in the call.
Magna 20 mar - impacts on global advertising - enSebnem Ozdemir
The COVID-19 pandemic will significantly impact the global advertising market in 2020. Most economists now expect a global recession in the first half of the year followed by a recovery. Key industries like travel, restaurants, and retail will see severe decreases in marketing spending due to slower sales and profits. Digital media formats will be impacted the least while linear TV and radio will see milder impacts. Overall, global digital advertising growth is expected to slow to single digits this year compared to 20% growth in recent years. The pandemic is driving changes in media consumption but supply of online impressions is increasing as more people stay home.
Ball Corporation reported its fourth quarter and full year 2007 earnings. John Hayes was promoted to Chief Operating Officer and will oversee all of Ball's businesses. Mike Herdman was named president of Ball's European beverage can business and John Friedery will oversee Ball's Americas and Asia beverage can operations. Ball reported record full year earnings for its North American beverage cans and aerospace businesses. Ball also announced plans to build a new beverage can plant in Poland to serve growing demand in Eastern Europe.
This document provides an overview and outlook for the petrochemical industry in the Americas in early 2016. Persistently low oil prices and new petrochemical plant capacities coming online in North America will shape pricing and competition over the first half of the year. Major themes include expected declines in key petrochemical prices like benzene due to supply increases, and the potential for further polyethylene price decreases as new plants start up in Mexico and elsewhere. However, stronger gasoline demand could increase prices for blending components like toluene and xylene.
Annie Williams Market Report April-May 2016Jon Weaver
Sales of both single-family, re-sale homes and
condos/townhomes jumped in March.
After an anemic start to the year, sales of homes in
San Francisco rose 148.5% in March from
February. Year-over-year, sales were up 40.2%.
Not to be left out, sales of condos/townhomes were
up 77.5% from February, and they were up 13.1%
year-over-year.
The document is a letter from the Chairman, President and CEO of Gannett Co., Inc. inviting shareholders to attend the company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 4, 2004. It provides details on three matters that shareholders will vote on: electing three directors, ratifying the appointment of the independent auditors, and amending the company's incentive compensation plan. It also mentions one shareholder proposal that will be presented for consideration and recommends voting against it. The letter encourages shareholders to vote and provides instructions for doing so by phone, online or by mail.
- The Chairman and CEO of the company invites shareholders to attend the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 6, 2003 to vote on three proposals: electing three directors, ratifying the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as independent auditors, and amending the company's incentive compensation plan.
- Shareholders are encouraged to vote by proxy using the internet, phone, or mail prior to the meeting even if they can't attend. Voting instructions are provided on the proxy card.
- Admission tickets are required for attendance at the Annual Meeting and can be requested by returning the enclosed postcard or by sending a written request with proof of share ownership by April 29, 2003.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation reported second quarter 2005 net income of $1 million, an improvement from a $10 million net loss in the second quarter of 2004. Sales increased to $2.2 billion from $2 billion in the prior year period. For the first half of 2005, the company reported a net loss of $18 million, an improvement from a $76 million net loss in the first half of 2004, with sales of $4.2 billion compared to $4 billion in the prior year. The company expects third quarter results to be negatively impacted by unfavorable pricing trends but anticipates increased packaging demand in the seasonally strong period.
This document is Gannett Co., Inc.'s 2005 annual report. It includes the company's financial summary for 2005, a letter to shareholders from the chairman and CEO, and information about the company's operations. The letter discusses leadership changes at Gannett in 2005, the company's financial performance for the year which saw increased revenues and operating cash flow despite challenges, and strategic acquisitions and investments made to expand Gannett's digital offerings and ability to reach audiences across multiple platforms.
Douglas H. McCorkindale, Chairman, President and CEO of Gannett Co., Inc., invites shareholders to attend the company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 7, 2002. Shareholders will vote on the election of two directors and the election of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the independent auditor. The board recommends voting for these proposals. Shareholders will also vote on one shareholder proposal, which the board recommends voting against. It is important for shareholders to have their shares represented at the meeting by voting by proxy.
- Lockheed Martin reported financial results for 2007, including net sales of $41.8 billion and net earnings of $3 billion. Operating profit from business segments was $4.7 billion.
- The company paid $615 million in dividends for 2007 and repurchased $2.1 billion of stock. Cash from operations was a record $4.2 billion for the year.
- Lockheed Martin completed three acquisitions in 2007 and expects recent acquisitions to aid future growth in key capabilities and customer bases. The company also achieved several program milestones for programs such as the F-35, F-22, and missile defense systems.
This document provides a summary of Gannett Co.'s third quarter 2004 conference call with analysts. [1] Gannett reported earnings of $1.18 per share, matching analyst estimates. [2] Newsprint costs increased 15% due to a 12.4% price increase and 2.4% usage increase. [3] Overall revenue growth was solid, though some regions and categories faced challenges due to hurricanes and difficult year-over-year comparisons.
This document provides the transcript from Gannett Co.'s second quarter 2005 earnings conference call on July 13, 2005. Gracia Martore, Gannett's SVP and CFO, discusses the company's financial results including earnings per share of $1.37, a 5.4% increase year-over-year. She also covers newsprint costs, expenses, the balance sheet, capital expenditures, and share repurchases. Doug McCorkindale, Gannett's Chairman and CEO, then comments on the company's second quarter performance, challenges in the UK market, softness in automotive advertising, and growth strategies around online products and non-dailies. The call concludes with a question
This document provides the transcript from Gannett Co., Inc.'s third quarter 2005 conference call and webcast on October 11, 2005.
Gracia Martore, Gannett's CFO, discusses the significant impacts of two transactions on the company's financial reporting for the quarter. She explains the accounting treatment of the asset exchange with Knight Ridder and the reorganization of the Detroit Newspaper Agency. Martore also provides pro forma financial results to allow for better year-over-year comparisons.
Craig Dubow, Gannett's President and CEO, discusses the company's third quarter performance. He notes challenges from tough comparisons and weak economies impacting results. Dubow highlights strength in U
Doug McCorkindale presented Gannett's financial results and outlook at the annual Media and Entertainment Analysts of New York meeting. He reported that February advertising revenues increased 6% overall, with local up 7%, classified up 6%, and national up 2%. However, broadcasting revenues declined 4% due to tough comparisons from the prior year's Super Bowl and political advertising. McCorkindale expressed optimism that Gannett can achieve competitive top-line growth despite difficult comparisons. Gary Watson and Craig Moon then provided more details on the successes of Gannett's newspaper and USA TODAY divisions.
The document summarizes Gannett Co.'s second quarter 2006 earnings conference call. Craig Dubow, Chairman, President and CEO, discussed Gannett's strategic focus on local content and building its digital business. He noted revenue growth in community newspapers and broadcasting. Gracia Martore, CFO, provided financial details, noting factors impacting reported results and growth in advertising revenues. Overall, the document recapped Gannett's financial performance and strategic initiatives discussed on the earnings call.
Gannett Co., Inc. held a first quarter 2008 earnings conference call to discuss their financial results with analysts. Craig Dubow, Chairman, President and CEO, and Gracia Martore, Executive Vice President and CFO, presented on the company's transformation efforts and performance in the challenging economic environment. Key points included a 10% decline in newspaper advertising revenue, continued weakness in real estate and employment classifieds, cost cutting measures resulting in a 7% expense decline, and a focus on growing digital revenues.
Gannett Co., Inc. held a conference call to discuss their fourth quarter and full year 2008 results. Craig Dubow, Chairman, President and CEO, provided an overview of Gannett's efforts to manage costs and innovate during the economic downturn. Some highlights included transforming their operations in Detroit to a digital-focused model, developing a content management system to share content across properties, and acquiring a social media company. Gracia Martore, EVP and CFO, discussed the financial results in more detail, noting declines in advertising revenue across segments due to economic conditions. She also outlined a planned goodwill impairment charge of $5.1-5.9 billion related to declines in business values.
Gannett Co., Inc. held a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2005 earnings. Gracia Martore, the CFO, noted that fourth quarter earnings were at the high end of guidance. Full year earnings per share were up slightly compared to 2004. Martore discussed factors impacting results such as the consolidation of Detroit Newspapers and currency exchange rates. Craig Dubow, President and CEO, provided details on segment results, noting growth in classified and real estate advertising, while auto remained soft. Online revenues increased nearly 60% for the quarter. The company is optimistic about opportunities in 2006.
- The San Francisco housing market remains very competitive, with sale prices continuing to exceed listing prices. The median home price was over $1,000,000 for the second month in a row.
- The real estate market is still in the recovery stage of the cycle, as seen by declining foreclosures, low inventory, and low mortgage rates. The recovery is expected to continue for the next few years.
- Both home and condo sale prices rose year-over-year in March. The median home price was up 5.3% while the median condo price set a new record at $970,000, up 17% from the previous year.
- The document analyzes the current market condition of Warner Music Group (WMG) and the music industry, which has been negatively impacted by COVID-19 with projected earnings down 29% for 2020.
- WMG relies heavily on touring and live music income, which has been halted by the pandemic, limiting sources of income to mainly streaming sales. However, vinyl record sales have increased in recent years and could provide an opportunity for additional profits.
- Recommendations include increasing marketing of vinyl record releases from WMG artists to target audiences aged 18-25 to help offset losses from the pandemic's impact on the music industry.
Annie Williams Market Trends Aug-Sept 2014Jon Weaver
- Home and condo sales were down in San Francisco in July compared to the previous year. The median home price rose 20.6% to $1,073,500 while the median condo price grew 9.8% to $944,500.
- The local real estate market continues to struggle with low inventory. There are only around 240 homes currently on the market, which is less than one month of sales. The lack of inventory is hindering market activity.
- Mortgage rates rose slightly in August after comments from the Federal Reserve signaled the central bank may start raising rates sooner than previously expected. However, rates remain low historically and global economic uncertainties are keeping further increases at bay for now.
Gannett held a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2008 earnings results. Gracia Martore, the CFO, introduced Craig Dubow, the CEO, to provide an overview of Gannett's strategic initiatives and financial performance. Dubow discussed Gannett's plans to grow its digital business while enhancing its core newspaper and television operations. He outlined several recent investments and partnerships that will allow Gannett to better serve advertisers across its digital properties. However, Dubow noted the results were impacted by the challenging economy in both the US and UK. Preliminary earnings per share were $1.02 but will be reduced by impairment charges. More details on the financials would be provided later in the call.
Magna 20 mar - impacts on global advertising - enSebnem Ozdemir
The COVID-19 pandemic will significantly impact the global advertising market in 2020. Most economists now expect a global recession in the first half of the year followed by a recovery. Key industries like travel, restaurants, and retail will see severe decreases in marketing spending due to slower sales and profits. Digital media formats will be impacted the least while linear TV and radio will see milder impacts. Overall, global digital advertising growth is expected to slow to single digits this year compared to 20% growth in recent years. The pandemic is driving changes in media consumption but supply of online impressions is increasing as more people stay home.
Ball Corporation reported its fourth quarter and full year 2007 earnings. John Hayes was promoted to Chief Operating Officer and will oversee all of Ball's businesses. Mike Herdman was named president of Ball's European beverage can business and John Friedery will oversee Ball's Americas and Asia beverage can operations. Ball reported record full year earnings for its North American beverage cans and aerospace businesses. Ball also announced plans to build a new beverage can plant in Poland to serve growing demand in Eastern Europe.
This document provides an overview and outlook for the petrochemical industry in the Americas in early 2016. Persistently low oil prices and new petrochemical plant capacities coming online in North America will shape pricing and competition over the first half of the year. Major themes include expected declines in key petrochemical prices like benzene due to supply increases, and the potential for further polyethylene price decreases as new plants start up in Mexico and elsewhere. However, stronger gasoline demand could increase prices for blending components like toluene and xylene.
Annie Williams Market Report April-May 2016Jon Weaver
Sales of both single-family, re-sale homes and
condos/townhomes jumped in March.
After an anemic start to the year, sales of homes in
San Francisco rose 148.5% in March from
February. Year-over-year, sales were up 40.2%.
Not to be left out, sales of condos/townhomes were
up 77.5% from February, and they were up 13.1%
year-over-year.
The document is a letter from the Chairman, President and CEO of Gannett Co., Inc. inviting shareholders to attend the company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 4, 2004. It provides details on three matters that shareholders will vote on: electing three directors, ratifying the appointment of the independent auditors, and amending the company's incentive compensation plan. It also mentions one shareholder proposal that will be presented for consideration and recommends voting against it. The letter encourages shareholders to vote and provides instructions for doing so by phone, online or by mail.
- The Chairman and CEO of the company invites shareholders to attend the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 6, 2003 to vote on three proposals: electing three directors, ratifying the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as independent auditors, and amending the company's incentive compensation plan.
- Shareholders are encouraged to vote by proxy using the internet, phone, or mail prior to the meeting even if they can't attend. Voting instructions are provided on the proxy card.
- Admission tickets are required for attendance at the Annual Meeting and can be requested by returning the enclosed postcard or by sending a written request with proof of share ownership by April 29, 2003.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation reported second quarter 2005 net income of $1 million, an improvement from a $10 million net loss in the second quarter of 2004. Sales increased to $2.2 billion from $2 billion in the prior year period. For the first half of 2005, the company reported a net loss of $18 million, an improvement from a $76 million net loss in the first half of 2004, with sales of $4.2 billion compared to $4 billion in the prior year. The company expects third quarter results to be negatively impacted by unfavorable pricing trends but anticipates increased packaging demand in the seasonally strong period.
This document is Gannett Co., Inc.'s 2005 annual report. It includes the company's financial summary for 2005, a letter to shareholders from the chairman and CEO, and information about the company's operations. The letter discusses leadership changes at Gannett in 2005, the company's financial performance for the year which saw increased revenues and operating cash flow despite challenges, and strategic acquisitions and investments made to expand Gannett's digital offerings and ability to reach audiences across multiple platforms.
Douglas H. McCorkindale, Chairman, President and CEO of Gannett Co., Inc., invites shareholders to attend the company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 7, 2002. Shareholders will vote on the election of two directors and the election of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the independent auditor. The board recommends voting for these proposals. Shareholders will also vote on one shareholder proposal, which the board recommends voting against. It is important for shareholders to have their shares represented at the meeting by voting by proxy.
- Lockheed Martin reported financial results for 2007, including net sales of $41.8 billion and net earnings of $3 billion. Operating profit from business segments was $4.7 billion.
- The company paid $615 million in dividends for 2007 and repurchased $2.1 billion of stock. Cash from operations was a record $4.2 billion for the year.
- Lockheed Martin completed three acquisitions in 2007 and expects recent acquisitions to aid future growth in key capabilities and customer bases. The company also achieved several program milestones for programs such as the F-35, F-22, and missile defense systems.
This document provides a summary of Gannett Co.'s third quarter 2004 conference call with analysts. [1] Gannett reported earnings of $1.18 per share, matching analyst estimates. [2] Newsprint costs increased 15% due to a 12.4% price increase and 2.4% usage increase. [3] Overall revenue growth was solid, though some regions and categories faced challenges due to hurricanes and difficult year-over-year comparisons.
This document provides the transcript from Gannett Co.'s second quarter 2005 earnings conference call on July 13, 2005. Gracia Martore, Gannett's SVP and CFO, discusses the company's financial results including earnings per share of $1.37, a 5.4% increase year-over-year. She also covers newsprint costs, expenses, the balance sheet, capital expenditures, and share repurchases. Doug McCorkindale, Gannett's Chairman and CEO, then comments on the company's second quarter performance, challenges in the UK market, softness in automotive advertising, and growth strategies around online products and non-dailies. The call concludes with a question
This document provides the transcript from Gannett Co., Inc.'s third quarter 2005 conference call and webcast on October 11, 2005.
Gracia Martore, Gannett's CFO, discusses the significant impacts of two transactions on the company's financial reporting for the quarter. She explains the accounting treatment of the asset exchange with Knight Ridder and the reorganization of the Detroit Newspaper Agency. Martore also provides pro forma financial results to allow for better year-over-year comparisons.
Craig Dubow, Gannett's President and CEO, discusses the company's third quarter performance. He notes challenges from tough comparisons and weak economies impacting results. Dubow highlights strength in U
Doug McCorkindale presented Gannett's financial results and outlook at the annual Media and Entertainment Analysts of New York meeting. He reported that February advertising revenues increased 6% overall, with local up 7%, classified up 6%, and national up 2%. However, broadcasting revenues declined 4% due to tough comparisons from the prior year's Super Bowl and political advertising. McCorkindale expressed optimism that Gannett can achieve competitive top-line growth despite difficult comparisons. Gary Watson and Craig Moon then provided more details on the successes of Gannett's newspaper and USA TODAY divisions.
Gannett Co., Inc. held a conference call to discuss its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2006. Craig Dubow, Chairman, President and CEO, provided an overview of Gannett's strategic initiatives and progress implementing their two-pronged strategy of augmenting core businesses and developing an international digital business. He discussed expanding their Information Center initiative across properties, audience-based advertising and sales training programs, and progress with new sites like IndyMoms.com. Gracia Martore, CFO, then discussed the financial results in more detail, including revenue growth, earnings, operating cash flow, and strength in digital revenues.
Gannett held a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2007 earnings. Craig Dubow, Chairman and CEO, provided an overview of Gannett's strategic initiatives and quarterly results. He noted challenges from a soft real estate market and winter weather. However, total revenues were down less than 1%.
Gracia Martore, CFO, then provided more details on the financial results. She discussed weaknesses in real estate and employment advertising, particularly in the South and West, due to the housing slowdown. Expenses were well controlled. Overall, Gannett earned $0.90 per share, meeting guidance.
Gannett held a third quarter earnings conference call and webcast on October 17, 2007. During the call, Craig Dubow, Chairman and CEO, reported that Gannett earned $1.01 per share from continuing operations for the third quarter. Gracia Martore, CFO, provided additional details on the quarterly results, noting challenges from a tough advertising environment and the housing slowdown impacting certain markets. While expenses were down, revenues declined in newspaper publishing and broadcasting segments due to lower advertising. The call included a question from an analyst about whether Gannett had any inclination to split off its TV group, as other media companies had recently done. Craig Dubow responded that given the relative sizes of G
This document contains the transcript from Gannett Co., Inc.'s third quarter 2006 earnings conference call. In the call:
- Craig Dubow, Chairman, CEO and President discusses Gannett's strategic initiatives to become more customer-centric, nimble and innovative such as expanding their digital offerings and making acquisitions.
- Gracia Martore, Executive VP and CFO, provides details on the quarterly financial results, noting challenges from a soft advertising market but growth in digital revenues and from political advertising. Expenses were up primarily due to stock compensation costs.
- The call concludes with Martore giving an update on newsprint costs and Gannett's balance sheet.
- Gannett reported its fourth quarter and full year 2007 earnings. Revenue was impacted by soft advertising demand late in the quarter and a lack of political advertising compared to 2006. Expenses were lowered through restructuring efforts.
- Digital revenues continued to grow, reaching over $460 million for the year. Traffic and unique visitors increased across Gannett's digital properties.
- Gannett will benefit from anticipated political advertising in 2008 and revenue from the Beijing Olympics, but results will not be evenly spread across quarters. The company remains focused on its digital transformation and content expansion.
This document summarizes Doug McCorkindale's opening remarks at the Morgan Stanley Media & Communications Conference on May 5, 2005 in Washington DC.
McCorkindale discusses Gannett's strategy of expanding their range of products to appeal to different customers and advertisers. He notes their leading ad revenue growth over the past two years and mixed bag results so far in 2005, with continued softness in auto advertising. McCorkindale also highlights Gannett's growing non-daily publications, online revenues, and acquisitions. He argues their multi-platform approach increases their reach in local markets.
- The Home Depot reported third quarter earnings for fiscal year 2008, with sales of $17.8 billion, down 6.2% from the previous year, and same-store sales down 8.3%. Earnings per share were $0.45.
- Challenging housing and home improvement markets continued to pressure results. Previously strong regions like the Northwest saw double-digit negative comps.
- While sales were weak across most departments, building materials had positive comps led by roofing and insulation. Initiatives to improve merchandising and focus on value are showing early signs of success through improved transactions, market share gains, and gross margin expansion despite volatile costs.
- Tightening credit availability also
- The Home Depot reported third quarter earnings for fiscal year 2008, with sales of $17.8 billion, down 6.2% from the previous year, and same-store sales down 8.3%. Earnings per share were $0.45.
- Challenging housing and home improvement markets continued to pressure results. Previously strong regions like the Northwest saw double-digit negative comps.
- While sales were weak across most departments, building materials had positive comps led by roofing and insulation. Initiatives to improve merchandising and focus on value are showing early signs of success through improved transactions, market share gains, and gross margin expansion despite volatile costs.
- Tightening credit availability also
Gannett held their third quarter 2008 earnings conference call to discuss financial results. Revenues were impacted by a steep decline in advertising demand, especially in real estate, retail, and employment, due to the weak economy and housing downturn. Publishing revenues fell 17.6% due to declines across all categories. Broadcasting provided a bright spot with revenue increases from the Olympics and political advertising. Gannett's digital strategy focuses on growing properties like CareerBuilder and ShopLocal, and developing niche websites. While the economy poses challenges, management is confident core revenues will rebound and digital growth will continue when economic conditions improve.
- The document is the transcript from 3M's Q1 2006 earnings conference call.
- 3M had strong sales growth of 8.3% in Q1 2006, with all six business segments growing. Operating income grew 18.8%.
- Geographic growth was strong, with Asia Pacific growing 12.0% and Europe growing 7.9% in local currency.
- Gannett expects political advertising revenue to be robust this season due to unused funds from candidates who had not been selected yet now being released rapidly.
- Gannett has already refinanced $500 million in upcoming debt maturities and expects the upcoming conversion of convertible notes to be put back to the company, which will be addressed through a variety of financing sources including public debt markets.
- Gannett expects its overall debt rate to be around 4% by the end of the second quarter as it refinances maturing debt.
marriott international 2008 Q2 Earnings Call Transcript with Q&Afinance20
Marriott International reported earnings per share of $0.41 for Q2 2008, which included $0.10 of negative impact from special tax items. Excluding these items, EPS was near the top end of prior guidance at $0.51. RevPAR growth in North America was 1.4% for company-operated hotels. While international markets saw stronger RevPAR growth, concerns about the slowing US economy have increased and Marriott expects flat to down 2% RevPAR growth for Q3 in North America. For 2008, Marriott forecasts systemwide RevPAR growth of flat to up 2% in constant dollars and total fee revenue of $1.450 to $1.475 billion.
The document is a transcript of Avis Budget Group's second quarter 2008 earnings conference call. In the call, Ron Nelson, the Chairman and CEO of Avis Budget Group, discusses the company's financial results and the challenges it is facing in the current economic environment. He notes that while the company has made progress on its strategic initiatives, it reported lower earnings than expected due to headwinds from high oil prices, a decline in commercial travel, and weaker consumer spending. Nelson provides details on how these factors impacted demand and pricing in the company's car rental business in the second quarter. He also discusses the company's outlook and steps it is taking to reduce costs and mitigate further impacts in the third quarter.
In this 3 sentence summary:
Ron Nelson, Chairman and CEO of Avis Budget Group, provided an overview of the company's second quarter 2008 earnings call. He noted weaker commercial travel demand and softer pricing impacted results. However, the company is taking steps like reducing costs and right-sizing its fleet in response to changing market conditions. While the near-term outlook faces challenges, management believes the company is well-positioned for long-term growth.
This document summarizes Fannie Mae's investor/analyst conference call on August 8, 2008. During the call, Fannie Mae reported a $2.3 billion loss for the second quarter, driven by $5.3 billion in credit-related expenses and a $3.7 billion addition to loan loss reserves. Housing market conditions continued to deteriorate in the second quarter and into July. Fannie Mae outlined additional actions to reduce risks and conserve capital, including reducing its common stock dividend, increasing mortgage pricing, and ceasing purchases of newly originated Alt-A loans by year-end due to their role in credit losses.
Mark Contreras, Senior Vice President of Newspapers at E.W. Scripps Co., discussed the challenges facing the newspaper industry and suggested initiatives to support quality journalism. He explained that classified advertising, which represented 40-60% of revenue, has declined due to online marketplaces. Additionally, while audiences have shifted online, digital revenues generate only $75 per user compared to $500 from print. This transition and the shrinking overall advertising market have put pressure on newspapers. Contreras proposed several initiatives including behaviorally targeted advertising, expanding the definition of relevant markets, supporting efforts to license newspaper content online, and creating uniform audience metrics.
Smurfit-Stone reported a net loss of $19 million for Q1 2005, an improvement from a $66 million loss in Q1 2004. Net sales increased 8% to $2.1 billion. The company continued to face cost pressures from higher energy, fiber, and employee benefit costs which narrowed margins. However, demand was improving and costs were expected to moderate for the rest of the year, leading the company to expect a return to profitability in Q2 2005.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation reported a net loss of $229 million or $0.90 per share for Q3 2005, primarily due to a $293 million pretax restructuring charge related to mill closures in Canada and a paper machine closure. Net sales were $2.1 billion, down from $2.2 billion in Q3 2004. For the first nine months of 2005, the net loss was $247 million or $0.97 per share, compared to a net loss of $48 million or $0.19 per share for the same period in 2004. The company expects costs to increase in Q4 due to higher energy and freight expenses, while average corrugated prices are expected to
- Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation reported a net loss of $92 million for Q4 2005 and a net loss of $339 million for the full year 2005.
- Market conditions were unfavorable in the first half of 2005 with declining containerboard and corrugated prices but began to improve in Q4 2005. However, higher energy and fiber costs negatively impacted results.
- The company expects better comparisons going forward as market conditions improve but not meaningful sequential earnings growth in Q1 2006 due to seasonal factors and cost pressures.
- Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation reported a net loss of $64 million for Q1 2006 compared to a net loss of $19 million in Q1 2005.
- Net sales were $2.1 billion for Q1 2006, comparable to Q1 2005. However, higher costs such as energy and freight, as well as lower containerboard and corrugated prices, negatively impacted year-over-year results.
- The company expects results to improve in Q2 2006 but not reach breakeven, and anticipates returning to profitability in Q3 2006 as prices have rebounded and benefits from strategic initiatives continue.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation reported financial results for the second quarter of 2006. The company reported a net loss of $44 million compared to net income of $1 million in the second quarter of 2005. Sales were flat at $1.76 billion. For the first half of 2006 the company reported a net loss of $108 million compared to a net loss of $18 million in the first half of 2005, with sales of $3.5 billion, consistent with the previous year. The company's containerboard and corrugated containers segment saw improved operating profits compared to the previous quarter and previous year.
1) Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation reported a net income of $22 million or $0.09 per diluted share for Q4 2006, compared to a net loss of $0.36 per diluted share in Q4 2005.
2) For full year 2006, Smurfit-Stone reported a net loss of $71 million or $0.28 per diluted share, an improvement from a net loss of $339 million or $1.33 per diluted share in 2005.
3) The company exceeded its cost reduction target for 2006 from its strategic initiatives program, achieving $243 million in savings, and expects further meaningful earnings growth in 2007.
1) Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation reported a net loss of $55 million for the first quarter of 2007 compared to a net loss of $0.25 per share in the first quarter of 2006.
2) The company announced plans to close two containerboard mills with 200,000 tons of annual capacity and restart a previously idled paper machine with 170,000 tons of annual capacity to realign its mill system.
3) While costs increased due to higher wood and recycled fiber prices, the company expects improved second quarter results and a return to profitability due to moderating costs and stronger demand.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation reported financial results for the second quarter of 2007, with the following highlights:
1) Operating profits were up 59% from the previous quarter and 16% from the second quarter of 2006, driven by higher average prices across major product lines.
2) Sales increased 6% year-over-year to $1.87 billion for the second quarter.
3) The company expects higher mill production and continued price improvements to drive further financial gains in the third quarter.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation reported improved financial results in the third quarter of 2007 compared to the previous quarter:
- Adjusted net income nearly doubled from the second quarter, reaching $28 million.
- Strategic initiatives led to $18 million in quarterly benefits from cost reductions.
- Debt was reduced by $328 million through the sale of the Brewton, Alabama mill.
While earnings are expected to decrease in the fourth quarter due to seasonal factors, management expects ongoing benefits from strategic cost cutting initiatives and capital investments to drive continued margin improvements.
Monthly Market Risk Update: June 2024 [SlideShare]Commonwealth
Markets rallied in May, with all three major U.S. equity indices up for the month, said Sam Millette, director of fixed income, in his latest Market Risk Update.
For more market updates, subscribe to The Independent Market Observer at https://blog.commonwealth.com/independent-market-observer.
OJP data from firms like Vicinity Jobs have emerged as a complement to traditional sources of labour demand data, such as the Job Vacancy and Wages Survey (JVWS). Ibrahim Abuallail, PhD Candidate, University of Ottawa, presented research relating to bias in OJPs and a proposed approach to effectively adjust OJP data to complement existing official data (such as from the JVWS) and improve the measurement of labour demand.
Mutual Fund Taxation – How Mutual Funds Are Taxeddhvikdiva
Divadhvik explains Mutual Fund Taxation clearly: Equity funds held over a year are taxed at 10% for gains over ₹1 lakh, while short-term gains are taxed at 15%. Debt funds held over three years are taxed at 20% post-indexation. Short-term gains are taxed as per your income slab.
The Rise and Fall of Ponzi Schemes in America.pptxDiana Rose
Ponzi schemes, a notorious form of financial fraud, have plagued America’s investment landscape for decades. Named after Charles Ponzi, who orchestrated one of the most infamous schemes in the early 20th century, these fraudulent operations promise high returns with little or no risk, only to collapse and leave investors with significant losses. This article explores the nature of Ponzi schemes, notable cases in American history, their impact on victims, and measures to prevent falling prey to such scams.
Understanding Ponzi Schemes
A Ponzi scheme is an investment scam where returns are paid to earlier investors using the capital from newer investors, rather than from legitimate profit earned. The scheme relies on a constant influx of new investments to continue paying the promised returns. Eventually, when the flow of new money slows down or stops, the scheme collapses, leaving the majority of investors with substantial financial losses.
Historical Context: Charles Ponzi and His Legacy
Charles Ponzi is the namesake of this deceptive practice. In the 1920s, Ponzi promised investors in Boston a 50% return within 45 days or 100% return in 90 days through arbitrage of international reply coupons. Initially, he paid returns as promised, not from profits, but from the investments of new participants. When his scheme unraveled, it resulted in losses exceeding $20 million (equivalent to about $270 million today).
Notable American Ponzi Schemes
1. Bernie Madoff: Perhaps the most notorious Ponzi scheme in recent history, Bernie Madoff’s fraud involved $65 billion. Madoff, a well-respected figure in the financial industry, promised steady, high returns through a secretive investment strategy. His scheme lasted for decades before collapsing in 2008, devastating thousands of investors, including individuals, charities, and institutional clients.
2. Allen Stanford: Through his company, Stanford Financial Group, Allen Stanford orchestrated a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, luring investors with fraudulent certificates of deposit issued by his offshore bank. Stanford promised high returns and lavish lifestyle benefits to his investors, which ultimately led to a 110-year prison sentence for the financier in 2012.
3. Tom Petters: In a scheme that lasted more than a decade, Tom Petters ran a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme, using his company, Petters Group Worldwide. He claimed to buy and sell consumer electronics, but in reality, he used new investments to pay off old debts and fund his extravagant lifestyle. Petters was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
4. Eric Dalius and Saivian: Eric Dalius, a prominent figure behind Saivian, a cashback program promising high returns, is under scrutiny for allegedly orchestrating a Ponzi scheme. Saivian enticed investors with promises of up to 20% cash back on everyday purchases. However, investigations suggest that the returns were paid using new investments rather than legitimate profits. The collapse of Saivian l
Vicinity Jobs’ data includes more than three million 2023 OJPs and thousands of skills. Most skills appear in less than 0.02% of job postings, so most postings rely on a small subset of commonly used terms, like teamwork.
Laura Adkins-Hackett, Economist, LMIC, and Sukriti Trehan, Data Scientist, LMIC, presented their research exploring trends in the skills listed in OJPs to develop a deeper understanding of in-demand skills. This research project uses pointwise mutual information and other methods to extract more information about common skills from the relationships between skills, occupations and regions.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte degree offer diploma Transcripttscdzuip
办理美国UNCC毕业证书制作北卡大学夏洛特分校假文凭定制Q微168899991做UNCC留信网教留服认证海牙认证改UNCC成绩单GPA做UNCC假学位证假文凭高仿毕业证GRE代考如何申请北卡罗莱纳大学夏洛特分校University of North Carolina at Charlotte degree offer diploma Transcript
TEST BANK Principles of cost accounting 17th edition edward j vanderbeck mari...Donc Test
TEST BANK Principles of cost accounting 17th edition edward j vanderbeck maria r mitchell.docx
TEST BANK Principles of cost accounting 17th edition edward j vanderbeck maria r mitchell.docx
TEST BANK Principles of cost accounting 17th edition edward j vanderbeck maria r mitchell.docx
Madhya Pradesh, the "Heart of India," boasts a rich tapestry of culture and heritage, from ancient dynasties to modern developments. Explore its land records, historical landmarks, and vibrant traditions. From agricultural expanses to urban growth, Madhya Pradesh offers a unique blend of the ancient and modern.
13 Jun 24 ILC Retirement Income Summit - slides.pptxILC- UK
ILC's Retirement Income Summit was hosted by M&G and supported by Canada Life. The event brought together key policymakers, influencers and experts to help identify policy priorities for the next Government and ensure more of us have access to a decent income in retirement.
Contributors included:
Jo Blanden, Professor in Economics, University of Surrey
Clive Bolton, CEO, Life Insurance M&G Plc
Jim Boyd, CEO, Equity Release Council
Molly Broome, Economist, Resolution Foundation
Nida Broughton, Co-Director of Economic Policy, Behavioural Insights Team
Jonathan Cribb, Associate Director and Head of Retirement, Savings, and Ageing, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Joanna Elson CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Age
Tom Evans, Managing Director of Retirement, Canada Life
Steve Groves, Chair, Key Retirement Group
Tish Hanifan, Founder and Joint Chair of the Society of Later life Advisers
Sue Lewis, ILC Trustee
Siobhan Lough, Senior Consultant, Hymans Robertson
Mick McAteer, Co-Director, The Financial Inclusion Centre
Stuart McDonald MBE, Head of Longevity and Democratic Insights, LCP
Anusha Mittal, Managing Director, Individual Life and Pensions, M&G Life
Shelley Morris, Senior Project Manager, Living Pension, Living Wage Foundation
Sarah O'Grady, Journalist
Will Sherlock, Head of External Relations, M&G Plc
Daniela Silcock, Head of Policy Research, Pensions Policy Institute
David Sinclair, Chief Executive, ILC
Jordi Skilbeck, Senior Policy Advisor, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms, former Chair, Work & Pensions Committee
Nigel Waterson, ILC Trustee
Jackie Wells, Strategy and Policy Consultant, ILC Strategic Advisory Board
In a tight labour market, job-seekers gain bargaining power and leverage it into greater job quality—at least, that’s the conventional wisdom.
Michael, LMIC Economist, presented findings that reveal a weakened relationship between labour market tightness and job quality indicators following the pandemic. Labour market tightness coincided with growth in real wages for only a portion of workers: those in low-wage jobs requiring little education. Several factors—including labour market composition, worker and employer behaviour, and labour market practices—have contributed to the absence of worker benefits. These will be investigated further in future work.
What's a worker’s market? Job quality and labour market tightness
gannett 1QPRESEN
1. GANNETT CO., INC. FIRST QUARTER
CONFERENCE CALL AND WEB CAST
APRIL 15, 2003
PRESENTATION
Operator
Good morning. And welcome to the Gannett First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. At this time I would like to inform
you that this conference is being recorded for rebroadcast and that all participants are in a listen-only mode. At the request
of the company we will open up the conference for questions and answers after the presentation. I will now turn the
conference over to Gracia Martore. Please go ahead.
Gracia Martore – Gannett Co., Inc. Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Thanks very much and good morning. Welcome to our conference call and Webcast to review Gannett's First Quarter 2003
results. We hope you've had a chance to review our press releases from this morning, which also can be found at
www.gannett.com. With me today are Doug McCorkindale, Chairman, President and CEO, and Larry Miller, Executive
Vice President of Operations. Very briefly, as you saw, Gannett earned 93 cents per diluted share this quarter. In the first
quarter of 2002, the comparable number was 91 cents. I'd like to briefly detail a few areas before I turn it over to Doug.
On the newsprint front a consumption recovery for newsprint has yet to occur. Consequently, Gannett did not pay the
announced price increase for any paper ordered in March nor in April; in fact, we did not pay any price increase. Global
demand has also weakened, particularly in Europe and Latin America. Producers are finding little export relief in these
offshore markets. This is a time of great uncertainty for both sides. In this period where newsprint consumption lacks
relative strength producers might better focus their efforts on an environment of stability where prices are neither forced up,
nor are they placed under any countervailing pressure to fall. To us, this seems the most logical course until a more
sustained, robust improvement materializes in newsprint demand and consumption.
Turning to the balance sheet for a moment, total debt at quarter end stood at $4.5 billion, and cash and marketable securities
were $393 million. Cash and marketables were at that level as we bought pounds in the weeks ahead of the closing on
SMG, which occurred on April 4th, and invested those pounds in the U.K. Therefore, our debt number at quarter-end also
included the borrowings for the purchase of SMG. At this point our all in-cost of debt remains at 3%.
We also closed on the Texas-New Mexico partnership with Media News and the partnership results are now fully
consolidated in our numbers. Both goodwill and our minority interest liability increased as a result, as you'll see on our
balance sheet. Doug will further comment on this transaction later. With respect to shares outstanding, basic shares at the
end of the quarter were 268.4 million and averaged 268.2 million for the quarter. Capital expenditures in the first quarter
totaled about $44 million. At this point, we appear to still be on track to spend somewhere between $270 million and $280
million which we budgeted for capital expenditures for the year.
Finally, before I turn the call over to Doug, I once again need to caution you that both our conference call and Webcast
today may include forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ, and many of the factors that may cause them
to differ are outlined in enormous detail in our SEC filings. This call is being Webcast and an archive will be available on
our Website this afternoon. Instructions to access that are in our press release. A transcript of the call will also be available,
and posted on our Website. Now, let me turn the call over to Doug.
2. Douglas H. McCorkindale - Gannett Co., Inc. Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Gracia, and good morning all. As most of you know, when we met with the group in New York in early
March, we told you that the first quarter had started out strong and we were ahead of our expectations through February.
Our community newspapers were performing as expected, and both television and USA TODAY, despite the difficult
comparisons due to the absence of the Olympics-related advertising, had performed a little better during that period than we
had anticipated. But the uncertainty of the geopolitical situation was beginning to cause advertisers to become more
cautious, and affected their short term buying decisions. This was obviously brought home by the outbreak of the war in
mid March. All of this geopolitical uncertainty, combined with the war, clearly depressed our results and accelerated the
pace of ad cancellations and postponements in the last few weeks of March. And as many of you know, March is the most
important month for the first quarter.
As you saw in our press release, net income rose 3%, and operating revenues increased 3% for the quarter as well. Looking
at our newspaper segment and assuming we owned the same newspapers in the first quarter this year as we did in the first
quarter last year, total advertising revenues rose 4% in the quarter. Through the end of February, the newspaper segment ad
revenues had been up a little over 4%, but March results were more subdued. Local advertising in our newspapers rose 2%
in the quarter, but was flat in March, due to the war uncertainties as well as to the shift in the timing of Easter, which was in
the first quarter last year, but which will be in the second quarter this year. The health and financial advertising categories
were both strong during the quarter, but department stores, consumer electronics and telecommunications all lagged last
year's results.
Classified advertising revenues in our newspaper segment were up 5% in the quarter. In employment, revenues were down
1%. Our large properties, as we have noted in the past, are seeing softer results in employment than in other markets.
Automotive was up 5%, in our local newspapers through March, although in March we did begin to see a little softening at
the local newspapers. Real estate continued strong and was up 10% for the quarter.
Turning to the national advertising front, that was up 2% for the quarter, again, despite the absence of Olympic advertising
at USA TODAY. But March results were particularly impacted by the war. Automobile advertising was particularly strong,
up 35%. And pharmaceutical advertising also was up in the double-digit range. Entertainment was up 7%, and financial
reported another year over year gain, up 6% for the quarter. Technology was also positive. Obviously, travel was impacted
by the pre-war jitters and the outbreak of hostilities. It was down 14% for the quarter, and 47% negative for March.
One area of our newspapers that has continued to show strong revenue growth is our non-daily products. You heard, in
New York, Gary Watson talk about some of these products. They include more than 400 weekly shoppers, magazines and
niche and other specialty publications. It is a key element of our revenue growth strategy. For our domestic newspapers,
non-daily revenues were up 14% for the quarter. In the last several months, we've launched more than 80 non-daily
publications.
As Gracia mentioned, we also closed a new partnership with MediaNews Group. The Texas-New Mexico Newspapers
Partnership, as some of you already know, publishes six daily newspapers and includes our paper in El Paso, MediaNews'
five daily papers and two weekly newspapers in New Mexico, including Las Cruses. The partnership has a daily circulation
of about 115,000 in the southwest New Mexico/West Texas region. We are the managing partner and have a 66%
ownership position. The Texas-New Mexico partnership will make us a more substantial and efficient competitor in that
region with the ability to garner more print and online revenues. It will also provide us with economies of scale through
consolidated operations. The bottom line is, both of us will make more money by joining together rather than being
separate. The partnership's results are consolidated in our numbers for financial reporting. For those of you who want to
look at that category, we realized a small net non-operating, non-cash gain as a result of the transaction, which mitigated
some Internet losses and write downs.
Turning to the U.K., Newsquest saw improved results in the quarter, despite a continued muted advertising environment.
Total revenues for Newsquest for the quarter, in pounds, were up 1%. Costs as always were well controlled, and as a result,
Newsquest operating profits, in pounds, were up in the mid single digits. As Gracia also mentioned, on April 4th we closed
on the acquisition of the publishing arm of Scottish Media Group. SMG consists of three Scottish regional newspapers, the
Herald, the Sunday Herald and the Evening Times. It also includes 11 specialty consumer and business-to-business
magazine titles, and online advertising and content businesses. Last year, SMG also completed a brand new production
facility with new presses, computer-to-press technology, and a highly automated mail room. The new facility has capacity
to handle significant additional contract printing. As well, we anticipate achieving additional synergies which will enable us
to move their low, mid teen margins to more Newsquest-like margins over the next couple of years.
3. During the quarter in the U.K., we also announced the acquisition of 45 weekly newspapers, including 29 paid titles and 16
free titles from the Independent News and Media group. The price of that deal is 60 million pounds. These titles are located
in or contiguous to Newsquest's existing London businesses, which will enable them to maximize cross-selling
opportunities and market a wider selection of products to advertisers within London. We'll also realize additional operating
efficiencies and savings in this transaction. The closing of this acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in the U.K., and
may occur in the second quarter or maybe as late as the early third quarter.
Turning to broadcasting, our results were constrained by the absence of the Olympics and some political advertising, which
together totaled about $30 million in the first quarter of 2002. The onset of the war further impacted TV's results in March
as pacings went from being solidly positive in early March to ending up the month with revenues down 5%.
Categories that were positive in the quarter for television were retail, movies/DVDs and financial. Auto also was ahead of
last year. The travel category, fast foods and telephones all lagged last year. Overall, as was probably obvious to most of
you, our larger markets were most affected by the war. As you would expect, the war impact was felt mostly by the news
leaders in the market and our stations are primarily the news leaders in the communities we serve.
Looking ahead in television, our latest pacings for the second quarter are up in the mid single digits, with April at that level.
Pacings, however, continue to be very volatile, and subject to weekly change. That's where we stand right at this moment,
but we'll keep you updated in our monthly report as the quarter progresses.
On the Internet side of business, we generated over $28 million of revenue in the quarter, which is up 40% over last year's
first quarter. Our CareerBuilder investment is performing as expected. CareerBuilder had a 41% increase in unique visitors
and a 48% increase in job searches in the quarter, in part due to a significantly ramped up promotional effort.
Looking ahead, while the war will have a continued impact on our April numbers, the accelerated pace of cancellations and
postponements we saw in the last two weeks of March has slowed substantially. Pacings at both USA TODAY and in our
television group have improved a little since the end of March. And we expect the economy to continue to grow this year,
barring any more external factors. But in the very short term, visibility is limited and business is still volatile. We'll have a
better picture of how business is snapping back over the next several weeks once the war is behind us. Right now we're
getting mostly oral information, not orders booked, but oral information that's quite positive. But we don't have it on the
books so we're not going to make any predictions at this time. We'll keep you posted through our monthly reports. Now,
Gracia, why don't we turn to questions.
QUESTION AND ANSWER
Operator
The question and answer period will begin now. If you're using a speaker phone, please pick up the handset before pressing
any buttons. If you have a question, please press star one on your push button phone. If you wish to withdraw your
question, please press star two. Your question will be taken in the order received. Please stand by for your first question.
The first question comes from Kevin Gruneich with Bear, Stearns. Please state your question.
Kevin Gruneich - Bear Stearns - Analyst
Thank you. Couple of questions. Actually three. I was wondering if you could isolate the major factors in the non-
operating line, including the gain on the Texas-New Mexico joint venture. Secondly, I was wondering if you could isolate
non-newsprint cash cost growth in the newspaper group and then the newsprint expense increase and what was price versus
consumption. Thank you.
4. Gracia Martore
I'll start with the newsprint part of it, Kevin. Newsprint expense was basically flat in the quarter. Our prices were down
mid single digits, but consumption was up about 4%. Consumption was driven by a couple of factors, one being
substantially higher commercial printing. For instance, at our Gannett Offset properties that do a lot of commercial printing,
revenues and newsprint usage were up substantially. And some of our newspapers ran a number of special sections with
respect to the war, so we saw an increase there. Newspaper expenses, excluding newsprint, were up about the 3% that we've
shown. With regard to the non-operating numbers, as you know that category varies from plus or minus several million
dollars. This quarter, we've got the non-cash gain from Tex-Mex. That gain is offsetting the CareerBuilder losses and a
couple of other small Internet investments that we wrote off during the quarter. And as you know, we don't disclose, nor do
any of our other partners disclose, the CareerBuilder results.
Kevin Gruneich
Could you isolate, Gracia, the Tex-Mex gain for us?
Gracia Martore
We’re not going to disclose that, Kevin, because that would give rise to us needing to talk more specifically about other
numbers. You know the swing in that category, and you know what it was the prior quarter. So you can probably figure it
out.
Kevin Gruneich
Thank you.
Operator
The next question comes from Doug Arthur with Morgan Stanley. Please state your question.
Doug Arthur - Morgan Stanley - Analyst
Doug, you talked about the growth in non-daily products. Can you just break out, perhaps within a range, what non-daily
revenues as well as preprints account for as a percent of total advertising, and broadly what you expect growth to be this
year in those categories? Thanks.
Douglas McCorkindale
I don't have those numbers in my head, Doug. It's not a huge piece. It’s growing. It's a much bigger piece in the U.K. And
what we're doing over here is picking up some of the techniques that we've seen employed in the U.K., apply them across
the community newspaper group here. As I said, there are about 80 products. Do you have the magnitude?
Gracia Martore
Yes, in the U.S. papers for the quarter, revenues from non-daily products were in the mid to upper single digits of total
advertising revenues. And the growth rate in the non-daily area for the quarter was about 14%. So that's an area of strong
growth for us.
5. Douglas McCorkindale
He also asked about preprints.
Gracia Martore
In our domestic newspapers, preprints were up 12%.
Doug Arthur
Just a follow-up to Kevin's question on non-newsprint cost, can you just break down some of the items that went in there
including labor, between salary and benefits, if possible. Thanks.
Gracia Martore
I think our labor costs are up in the very low single digits, about 3%.
Doug Arthur
Right.
Douglas McCorkindale
Some of what’s growing there are the medical costs, the pension cost, and we did have some extra cost on war coverage.
And, of course, the price of gasoline went up. So the distribution cost for our newspapers went up.
The other area, Doug, is our non-daily and online products. Tremendous growth there. As you know, in the ramp-up mode
that we are in on the non-dailies and in the online area, the expenses obviously are higher in that phase, so you've got some
of that impact in there as well.
Doug Arthur
And just to follow up, you gave me the volume growth in preprint. Preprint as a percent of total newspaper advertising?
Gracia Martore
Preprints about 10%.
Doug Arthur
Great, thank you.
Operator
The next question comes from Christa Sober with Thomas Weisel Partners. Please state your question.
6. Christa Sober
On the broadcast side, the cash costs there were down in the first quarter and I was wondering if you could give us an
indication what the outlook might be. Obviously you have a tough revenue comp there, so maybe you're doing some stuff to
the cost line given the earnings outlook there. And then I know you don't give specific information on the earnings at
CareerBuilder but I was just wondering if you could give us a revenue number there or even a sense of what it might be up
on a pro forma basis. Thank you.
Gracia Martore
With regard to CareerBuilder, their revenues in the first quarter were up about 24% over the first quarter of 2002. And I
think up about 29% or so from the fourth quarter of last year.
Christa Sober
And does that include the addition of -- I mean is that a like-for-like number?
Gracia Martore - Gannett - SVP and CFO
That's the network and as you know the network includes the revenues and expenses for CB products that are sold by
Tribune, Knight Ridder and ourselves.
Christa Sober
Do you have a like number given the fact you were not part of it last year or like that?
Gracia Martore
I don't have a pro forma number.
Christa Sober
Got it.
Doug McCorkindale - Gannett - Chairman and President and CEO
What is your question on broadcast?
Christa Sober
Broadcast’s cash costs were lower than I expected. I didn't know if there was something you were doing to manage that
down, and then the outlook for broadcasting cash cost for the upcoming quarters.
Doug McCorkindale
Broadcasting revenue is down about $9 million as you can see on that line. And the cash is about $9 million down, too.
They had some additional cost for war news coverage. And they lost the advertising where they were blanked out on the
war. So we're not trying to manage the number down, to say the least.
7. Gracia Martore
They're doing a pretty good job, Christa, on the programming side. So those costs are down. But I think the guidance we
gave is that we thought they would keep those costs pretty flat. They've got sales commissions that are down in proportion
to the lack of volume.
Christa Sober
Right, okay, thanks.
Operator
The next question comes from Lauren Fine from Merrill Lynch. Please state your question.
Lauren Fine
Just a couple of quick ones. I wonder if you could give the impact of currency on the first quarter, and specifically discuss
April trends on newspaper and TV.
Doug McCorkindale
I believe we were pacing in mid single digits on the broadcast side in April and for the quarter. Beyond that, we don't really
have a clear picture, because it is bouncing around. We indicated that USA TODAY is seeing a pickup in revenue. Most of
it is vocal at this point. They say the orders are coming. But it is picking up. Order of magnitude, we don't have an exact
percentage. And for the newspaper division, we don't do pacings on a month-to-month basis. But as a general statement,
they, too, are seeing an improved advertising picture as people begin to place some ads and feel a little bit more
comfortable with the overall situation. But we don't have percentage numbers on that.
Gracia Martore
Lauren, with regard to the currency, as you know, the pound was stronger during the first quarter of this year than it was in
the first quarter of last year. It bounced to as high as $1.65, although for the quarter it averaged about $1.60. And it has
since fallen from that area. So there was some impact. But we don't break out the specific numbers at Newsquest.
Doug McCorkindale
We did, as Gracia said in her comments, we did pre-buy some pounds to take care of the acquisition cost for the Scottish
group. So that did add a little positive. But we don't have, right here, the exact pennies. It's not a lot of money.
Lauren Fine
Gracia, do you know what the average rate was in the year-ago first quarter that you would have used versus $1.60?
Gracia Martore
Yes, it was $1.43.
8. Lauren Fine
Okay, great. And then just one last question. As it appears and I think you mentioned in your remarks, the timing of Easter
probably did impact your figures in March. Would you expect retail to sort of pick back up to the trend shown earlier in the
year looking to April in the second quarter?
Doug McCorkindale
It is a little too early, Lauren. The signs are getting positive each day, but it's a little too early. Let's see, Easter is this
Sunday coming up so we'll know very soon.
Lauren Fine
All right, great, thank you.
Operator
The next question comes from Barton Crockett from J.P. Morgan. Please state your question.
Barton Crockett - JP Morgan - Analyst
Couple of questions. I was wondering if you could give us a little more color on the turn-around in TV – which categories
are coming back that seem to be negatively affected by the war. And in terms of some of the non-daily things you were
talking about, that being up 14%, can you give us a sense of how much of that is acquisition-driven versus organic. And the
final thing with the Scottish Media Group closing this quarter, can you give us some kind of information on what the
impact that would be on the second quarter?
Doug McCorkindale
We can all join in. My impression, subject to what Larry and Gracia have, on the new products, the non-daily products,
almost all of them are organic. I mean, there are a couple of minor acquisitions on that list. But that 80 number of new
products that Gary mentioned are all being created in-house. And you may remember he passed out a few samples of that.
So it is almost all our own work.
Gracia Martore
On SMG, as we said when we announced the transaction, we expected it to be very modestly accretive for the year. So in
the quarter, it's going to be a very nominal amount. I wouldn't change any numbers on the basis of that. We need to get,
second, a lot of things accomplished there and the first quarter we own them is clearly a time when we're going to have to
begin that process.
Doug McCorkindale
On the television side, Barton, the one category we're seeing a little better improvement in is auto. Auto was doing okay, it
had softened a little bit towards the end of March, and it seems to be coming back. And as I mentioned earlier, it's very
strong at USA TODAY. But the rest of the categories are following the trends they did before, with retail and movies and
financial being pretty good still also. But travel, of course, and telecommunications categories are still soft.
9. Barton Crockett
Okay, great. And then just a quick follow-up on classified, and Easter. Should we expect a little bit of a weakening there
with the Easter effect? As you know, that should probably help retail but should hurt classified. Shouldn't we expect that?
Gracia Martore
Yes typically, Barton, particularly in real estate where people are not going to have open houses on Easter Sunday. So
you're not going to see that kind of advertising. Usually they don't go out looking for new cars, that sort of thing. So there'll
be an impact there as well.
Barton Crockett
Okay, great. Thanks.
Operator
This next question comes from William Drewry with CSFB. Please state your question.
William Drewry - Credit Suisse First Boston - Analyst
Just a question on advertising trends. If you could talk about any regional trends that you're seeing, particularly on the
newspaper side, any differences in the growth rate from region to region? Thanks.
Doug McCorkindale
Bill, as we've said in the past, New Jersey continues to do well. Much better than its neighbors to the north, and some of
them to the immediate south. So that's doing well. I just talked to Sue Clark-Johnson who runs the Pacific Group for us, and
she is beginning to see some positive trends out in the West. I think the South is doing okay, and the Midwest is still
lagging. You know, primarily, the manufacturing economy is waiting for the employment picture to pick up and for the
overall economy to pick up together for us.
William Drewry
Okay. And just one follow-up. Any comments on the regulatory front? June 2nd seems like a likely date for newspaper
cross-ownership to come to a head. Any comments on that and any acquisition opportunity or thoughts on that you might
have specifically on the TV front?
Doug McCorkindale
On the regulatory front, the chairman has said June 2nd, and we’re waiting to see the results. Of course, they've been
setting dates for the last 26 years. So hopefully, this time we'll have some results, and from what we're hearing, the trends at
the agency would appear to be positive from the newspaper cross-ownership point of view. There may be some more
flexibility on duopoly and some of the other issues too. On the newspaper cross-ownership issue itself, we're getting good
vibes but we haven't seen anything yet.
On the acquisition front, the book is not out on Freedom – that is one of the ones you're referring to and which everybody
else is looking for. We don't know when that will come out, hopefully sooner rather than later. There are some small
television assets available. We're looking at all of them. But as I've indicated in the past, we're not likely to go chase assets
at prices that are helping others get out of bad deals they made a number of years ago. There are some things available in
the U.K. still. Smaller transactions, but they can be added to the group over there very nicely. And there are some other,
smaller newspaper possibilities within the U.S. So there's enough to keep us busy for a while.
10. William Drewry
Okay. And actually just one last point, I just wanted to clarify. On the newspaper expense trends, ex newsprint, would what
we saw in the first quarter be a run rate to use for the rest of the year? Would there be any reason why those costs would
step up from what we just saw?
Doug McCorkindale
It shouldn't step up. They may come down a little bit with the fuel cost. That's an expensive part of the circulation process.
In the overall picture, you probably wouldn’t be able to measure it very well so that's a little bit of a positive. But the rest of
the things on medical cost and pension, normal wages, they're about the trend that we've seen. And, as Gracia said, we're
not paying any increase in newsprint and don't expect that this market can justify that for some time.
William Drewry
Great, thank you very much.
Operator
Next question comes from Steve Barlow with Prudential securities. Please state your question.
Steven Barlow - Prudential Financial Research - Analyst
Good morning. When the Q comes out will you provide more detail on the JOAs and those lines similar to what we saw
from Scripps? Secondly, is there a way to give a percentage of revenue that the U.K. will be in 2003, obviously with the
new London acquisition plus SMG? Thanks.
Doug McCorkindale
I'm not sure I understand your question on the JOAs. What are you getting at?
Steven Barlow
Scripps provided an awful lot of detail on their JOAs because of Sarbanes Oxley way of looking at it. It is just a way to
handle the revenue side, minority interest side.
Gracia Martore - Gannett - SVP and CFO
I was just going to say, Steve, that I think you have a different situation. They've got a situation with Denver that's a little
bit different than the situations we have with our JOAs. As you know, we had been consolidating the results of our JOAs
but because of the accounting pronouncements a year or so ago, we've had to just simply put the net results in the “other”
operating revenue line. They're not that big a piece of the pie, so I don't anticipate we'll do any more disclosure as Scripps
did. Obviously Denver is a significant turn around situation for them.
Steven Barlow
By the time you add up California, Texas, New Mexico and Detroit?
11. Gracia Martore - Gannett - SVP and CFO
California is not a JOA.
Steven Barlow - Prudential Financial Research - Analyst
That's another partnership. Right.
Gracia Martore
It's a partnership.
Doug McCorkindale
So is Texas-New Mexico.
Gracia Martore
And in the California partnership we own about 19.5% of California. So it's small.
Doug McCorkindale
Texas will be in here at 100%.
Gracia Martore
Texas will be consolidated in the numbers and we've pro forma'd them in the Rev and Stat report. We've got a note at the
bottom of it.
Doug McCorkindale
That's because we have 66% of the Texas-New Mexico partnership and we have less than 20% of the California
partnership. But the JOAs, as Gracia said, are treated separately and in my personal opinion they are not giving you as
much disclosure as we gave you before. But that's what the accounting rules require so we're doing it according to the book.
Back to the U.K., I don't know what the number is when we put all the pieces that we're hopefully acquiring here together.
But it would be in excess of $750 million of revenue.
Steven Barlow
Okay. That's a start, thanks.
Operator
The next question comes from Brian Shipman of UBS Warburg. Please state your question.
Brian Shipman - UBS Warburg - Analyst
Good morning, couple of questions. First, is there any progress in naming new management at USA TODAY? Second, you
stated capex was $44 million in Q1, and your outlook for the year is $270 million, $280 million. What have you got built
12. into your assumptions for the back half of the year? Finally, if you could comment on your comfort level or hopefully
discomfort at how you feel about the consensus estimate in Q2 for $1.21? Thanks.
Doug McCorkindale
Let me handle a couple of those and Gracia can go to the capital. I was trying to send the message that we're not going to
give a number for the second quarter until we get a better handle on how the advertising picture is coming together. As I
said, it's picking up, but I think it's a little too premature for us to make a value judgment at this point and either lead you in
one direction or the other direction. But as soon as we get a better handle on it, Gracia will be commenting on it in our
monthly report that comes out. As to USA TODAY, Tom is still here. He's working. He'll be here through June 1. We are
looking at a number of possibilities within the Gannett company. What has to happen, though, when we move some bodies
around within Gannett, you get a little bit of a domino effect. So I'm putting all the pieces together before we make the
announcements.
Gracia Martore
And with respect to capex, Brian, we have three significant press projects: Honolulu, Detroit and Louisville. And it's
typical that capex starts out lower in the first half of the year and then usually ramps up particularly in the fourth quarter as
payments are made. So it's not atypical for the number to be lower in the first half and a little bit higher in the second half,
but not dramatically different.
Brian Shipman
Okay, thank you.
Operator
The next question comes from Peter Appert with Goldman Sachs. Please state your question.
Peter Appert - Goldman Sachs - Analyst
Doug, I was hoping you could give a little more detail on the U.K. operations and specifically I was wondering if you
could tell us if you see any significant differences in terms of the trends in the ad market, U.K.-U.S. Any category
differences, number one. Number two, maybe a comment on where the operating margins are in the U.K. business currently
and where you think they could go. And third, is there much opportunity left, given all you have done already, in terms of
acquisitions in that market?
Doug McCorkindale
Let me answer some of your questions, Peter, and some of them I won't answer. We're not going to reveal the operating
profit margin in the U.K. but you can be assured that it's up to Gannett standards, and folks over there are doing very, very
well. As to the overall -- and therefore by the way, as I mentioned in my earlier comments, the Scottish operations have a
lot of upside. Because they are in the low teens in terms of their profit margins. And as you know, we expect a lot more
than that, and we'll be getting more than that. A lot of synergies and a lot of opportunities in that Scottish acquisition that
you'll see come into our P&L in the upcoming months and years. That should also be true for the London acquisition that
we just announced, a little smaller in order of magnitude. The ad market in the U.K. has softened a little bit as we've been
telling you. But it's not as soft as it is in the U.S. And so, as a general statement, we're in the regional as opposed to the
national newspapers in the U.K. The national papers have suffered a lot more than we have in the regions. So the ad picture
is down a little bit. Actually, the southern part of England, which is the fastest growing area, is suffering the most. Whereas
the northern part is suffering less. Overall, it's a little bit soft but not as soft as we've been experiencing in the U.S. And as
to acquisitions, there is a procedure there, one has to go before the competition commission, and they review your overall
picture. As you know, we got approval to close the Scottish deal. We expect to get the same approval for the London deal.
There's some more room for us to grow. How much more, I don't know. We certainly have discussions going on with a
couple of smaller acquisitions there and I think we have room to make it larger. How much larger, I don't know. You know,
we also have a lot of organic growth going on in the U.K. Those publications I mentioned we're starting in the U.S., they do
13. a lot of that in the U.K. We've had a lot of cross-talk between our two divisions to discuss new weekly products, new free
newspapers, new niche publications, so a lot of the growth in the U.K. is coming from organic growth.
Peter Appert
Great. Unrelated question. Gracia, can you just remind me what the structure of the debt is currently?
Gracia Martore
Sure. It's $1.8 billion of fixed-rate debt. The rest is in commercial paper. So at $4.5 billion, less the $1.8 billion, it's about
$2.7 billion of commercial paper now.
Peter Appert
If, hypothetically, you were to do a fairly large acquisition, how would you finance that?
Gracia Martore
We have the flexibility to do it either through commercial paper, or we also have a shelf registration statement of $2.5
billion that we could pull down. We'd take a look and see what made the most sense depending on interest rates and some
other factors at the time we were to do the hypothetical transaction.
Peter Appert
And could you hypothetically do $2 billion or $2.5 billion of additional CP?
Gracia Martore
More than hypothetically, we could.
Peter Appert
Okay, great.
Doug McCorkindale
We've had very open and frequent conversations with the rating agencies, Peter, and they are totally up to date as to our
plans and our cash flow capacity and our earnings projection, so I believe they are feeling quite comfortable with our
financial picture.
Peter Appert
Thank you.
Operator
Next question, Jim Goss of Barrington Research. Please state your question.
14. Jim Goss - Barrington Research - Analyst
Thank you. I think Lauren touched on this a little bit before, but with regard to your comment on USA TODAY being
especially hurt by the war, are you getting a sense that therefore, there were more deferrals than cancellations? And I'm
wondering also, if the USA TODAY advertising has some relation to, say, broader multimedia campaigns that might have
been pushed back because of the war that might be revived later on? Then the employment classified, minus 1% was an
encouraging number. That doesn't include any contribution from CareerBuilder, which would be accounted for elsewhere,
is that correct? Just want to make sure of that.
Gracia Martore
The results of CareerBuilder are in non-operating. But there is some modest, you know, a little bit of a number from
CareerBuilder. But that's not going to make or break that number. It's too big a number for it to be impacted.
Jim Goss
Okay.
Doug McCorkindale
It is irrelevant to the point you're making. As we said earlier, the employment number, the larger the market, the softer it is.
So actually, in a number of our medium-size and smaller markets, the employment picture is not that bad at all, and wasn't
that bad in months and years past. It's the larger markets that are suffering the most. Getting to your question on deferral for
USA TODAY, and this also happens to apply to broadcasting, your analysis is exactly correct. Unfortunately, when they
defer out of March and into April, you can’t keep it in the first quarter. But we are getting the sense that they didn't cancel.
They simply deferred. That's why we're a little optimistic. As I mentioned earlier, we're getting a lot of oral comments that
it looks like they're going to be coming back and placing advertising. That sense is coming to USA TODAY and to the
broadcasting group. I would say it is probably coming to USA TODAY even stronger than it's coming to the broadcasting
group as of, you know, April 15th.
Jim Goss
Okay. Then the last issue might be pension cost and unfunded pension liabilities, any changes in costs and assumptions
there? Maybe an update?
Gracia Martore
No, at the moment we're right on track with what we said in the 10-K, which is the pension expense should be up a little
over $50 million this year. As you know, we reduced our assumptions to an 8.75 ROA – return on asset – assumption and
6.75 discount rate. It's early in the year. We'll have to watch the markets and see how the markets perform. We will
continue to evaluate that. But right now we're on track.
Doug McCorkindale
We said in the annual report, we're fully funded on an ABO basis and the chart shows us a little bit under-funded on a PBO
basis.
Jim Goss
Okay, thank you very much.
15. Operator
The next question comes from Kevin Sullivan with Lehman Brothers. Please state your question.
Kevin Sullivan - Lehman Brothers - Analyst
Hi, good morning. I think most of my questions have been answered. Can you quantify the cost of war coverage, if it's
meaningful, and secondly, a bigger picture question given the step-back in help wanted and classified in the large markets
at least, has your thinking really changed in terms of how the recovery is mirroring past downturns?
Doug McCorkindale
Kevin, we don't have an all in number for the news costs of covering the war. We haven't asked our properties to send that
in. So I can't answer that question. Obviously, it was more significant at USA TODAY as a unit than any other particular
unit. But we had a wonderful cooperative effort between the Gannett newspaper group and the broadcasting group. And
folks like Army Times, which don't get credit but have done a wonderful job in covering the news. All of those pieces
together are some amount of money but we haven't added all of that and put it into one pile. What was the other question?
Gracia Martore
Large markets and what you think --
Doug McCorkindale
Well, as you may remember, we began to see a positive trend in November and December. The smaller markets hadn't
really declined that much. But the larger ones were beginning to come back. January appeared to be okay, and we began to
see some softness in February, which is obviously continued here in March. Not much, the 1% negative is not a big
number. But it's certainly not the trend we saw in in the very first part of 2003. I think we're just going to have to step back
and get a sense of whether it's some uncertainty because of the geopolitical situation, or whether it's directly related to the
economy. As I mentioned in response to a question earlier, in some parts of the country, we are simply not seeing any
pickup in the economy. It seems to just be moving sidewards, and most of the advertisers and businesses in our
communities are waiting for some sign that the trend is going to be more positive before they make any significant
economic decision. That's obviously affecting their decisions to hire people. We're going to know a little bit more in the
upcoming weeks. I certainly hope so. But it was picking up before the Middle East situation put a cloud over the economy.
Kevin Sullivan - Lehman Brothers - Analyst
Great, thank you very much.
Operator
The next question comes from Edward Atorino from Blaylock. Please state your question.
Edward Atorino - Blaylock and Partners - Analyst
Most of my questions have been answered. But if you could comment on interest expense, are you locking in any fixed
debt and how would that trend over the course of the year?
16. Doug McCorkindale
Gracia is waiting for the Fed to cut rates.
Edward Atorino - Blaylock and Partners - Analyst
Again?
Gracia Martore
I hope not. I'm hoping that business expands, actually. No current plans, Ed, to lock in any more debt. We feel pretty
comfortable with the balance we have right now but that's something we look at on a daily basis. And if we think that the
factors are appropriate, we would look at doing that. But as of today, no plans.
Edward Atorino
Will interest expense stabilize here or continue to erode quarter to quarter?
Gracia Martore
It probably will come down a little bit as we obviously pay down debt over the next few quarters.
Doug McCorkindale
And this is the last quarter of the fixed-rate debt, in the comparison.
Gracia Martore
Right. We will cycle the fixed-rate debt we placed last March. Although the fixed will become a bigger portion of it as the
other debt comes off.
Edward Atorino
Okay. Thanks.
Operator
Doug Arthur with Morgan Stanley. Please state your question.
Doug Arthur - Morgan Stanley - Analyst
Yeah, two follow-ups. Gracia, it looks like you restated circulation revenue for last year by $10 million, also took it out of
cost of goods. Can you just amplify on that? And auto advertising in classified, I think, was flat or down 1% in March. We
saw something similar with Knight Ridder. Was that the war or was that category starting to get a little tired?
Gracia Martore
Let me start with the first question. Doug, on our call last quarter, we said that we had taken certain circulation promotions,
and the like, and previously had run them through expenses. We decided to conform to others and net them against the
17. revenues. We've gone back in each quarter and have reclassified the circulation revenue. So that's what you see. We did the
same thing in the fourth quarter and for the full year of last year. With regard to auto, interestingly we saw on the national
auto front, on broadcast and USA TODAY, that it was strong during the quarter, although it got a little weaker as the war
started up, but was still positive. On the classified side, which is more, you know, very local, I think there was clearly some
impact of the war. I think it would be too early for us to say, and too cloudy for us to say that it’s because the category is
getting tired, given what we're seeing in the USA TODAY and broadcast side.
Doug McCorkindale
We were up – Doug, we were up 5% for the quarter and 1% in March for the automobile in classified. Based upon some of
the preliminary numbers I've seen, the foreign automobile manufacturers and Chrysler seem to be more inclined to be
picking up their advertising right now than Ford and General Motors, or those category of dealers. So we'll have to wait and
see what happens. Although GM has this $3,000 rebate program in effect. So it should be that they'll come back to the
classified category following the national categories that Gracia mentioned.
Doug Arthur
Great, thank you.
Operator
The next question comes again from Barton Crockett with J.P. Morgan. Please state your question.
Barton Crockett - JP Morgan - Analyst
I just wanted to follow up on this non-daily issue. Can you give us the sense of the percentage of U.K. revenues that come
from the non-dailies and whether if you think over the next couple of years the organic growth could move the U.S. non-
dailies to a share?
Doug McCorkindale
It is a big, big percentage, Barton, in the U.K. because we only had -- before the Scottish acquisition -- we only had 15
dailies over there. In the regional newspaper business in the U.K., non-dailies are a great part of the market. So it's very
different than the U.S. Now, with the Scottish newspapers we'll pick up a couple more dailies and like I said we'll pick up a
bunch of smaller publications, I think it was 11 others. I don't have a breakdown, we don't break it down between daily and
non-daily. It's a very big percentage of the U.K. revenue picture.
Gracia Martore
And looking to the future, sure, as we said, growth in the non-daily area is a key part of our growth strategy going forward.
We would hope that we can continue to grow that category.
Barton Crockett
Great, thanks.
Operator
The final question comes from William Drewry with CSFB. Please state your question.
18. William Drewry - CSFB - Analyst
Hi, thanks. Just one more on the auto category. How much for the newspapers of the revenue is dealer-oriented versus
classified? Also, how seasonal for the newspapers does auto tend to be? Because there's a lot of new product launches
coming this fall, particularly like with Ford, with you know the F-150 and all that. So I'm wondering if there is a hold-back
effect? Around new product launches, do you tend to see more auto in the third quarter than you would in the second?
Thanks.
Doug McCorkindale
Yes, Bill. We don't break down between the dealers and the private parties or at least we don't break it down here in
classified. Auto is, you know, 25%, 28% of the classified picture. Most of that is dealer. How much of it would actually
break out, I don't know. And your comment on new product is something we mentioned at the meeting in March. We are
seeing a lot of new launches. From what we can tell, yes, they are traditionally oriented towards the third quarter. But we
are seeing that those dates move up every year as they bring out products in June, and Ford has obviously the new 150
which is not even scheduled to be sold I guess until July-August. But they're already advertising it. So it's spreading across
the months. But you're right. It tends to be aimed towards the third quarter. The manufacturers are telling us that they have
a lot of product coming out. I think it's 25 new models. So that should be a positive sign for the upcoming months.
William Drewry
Great, thank you very much.
Operator
I will now turn the conference back to Ms. Martore to conclude.
Gracia Martore
Thanks very much for joining us today.
Operator
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