NEW YORK, NY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gannett Co., Inc. ("Gannett", "we", "us", "our", or the "Company") (NYSE: GCI) today reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

"We continued to make solid progress on our key priorities in the third quarter while delivering another quarter of year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA growth. Three out of four digital revenue categories experienced further trend improvement year-over-year, and as a result, total digital revenues surpassed 45% of total revenues, representing an all-time high. These results reinforce our belief that we have created a sustainable pathway for ongoing growth moving forward. We also significantly increased our free cash flow by 168% year-over-year. Additionally, within the quarter, we repaid approximately $29 million of debt, which combined with our Adjusted EBITDA growth, reduced our first lien net leverage to 1.76x. It is also important to note that some of our strategic decisions impacted total reported revenue in the third quarter, such as the intentional closure or divestiture of certain businesses in our portfolio. These actions were in-line with our long-term strategy and did not materially impact Adjusted EBITDA," said Michael Reed, Gannett Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

"In the third quarter, our audience surpassed 200 million average monthly unique visitors for the first time in our history, reflecting growth of over 7% compared to the prior year period. Furthermore, in the third quarter, we announced an additional partnership with BetMGM, which is expected to enhance the monetization of our content platform."

"On October 15, 2024, we completed our debt refinancing transactions which extended our maturities, reduced potential share dilution by approximately 46%, and simplified our capital structure. This refinancing is an important milestone in our long-term strategic plan. With our continued strong performance, we are pleased to reiterate nearly all of our 2024 full year outlook, with the exception of slight adjustments to total digital revenues and free cash flow, which was impacted by our refinancing efforts. Beyond 2024, we continue to believe we are well-positioned to drive sustainable growth across all of our key financial metrics, and as a result, we reiterated our 2025-2026 business outlook."

"We continue to execute on our strategy and have made great progress on our key priorities in the third quarter. We expect to see further improvement to trends in the fourth quarter as well. Importantly, we believe we are well-positioned to realize 2025 full year total revenue growth, as well as continued growth in Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. With the completion of our debt refinancing transactions, combined with anticipated revenue and cash flow growth in 2025 and 2026, we believe we are well-positioned to create significant value for our shareholders."

Third Quarter 2024 Digital Highlights (Year-Over-Year):

• Total digital revenues of $277.4 million increased 5.2%, or 5.8% on a same store basis(1)
• Digital-only subscription revenues of $50.1 million grew 25.0%
• Digital-only average revenue per user(2) of $8.16 increased 19.6%
• Total digital-only paid subscriptions(2) of 2.06 million increased 4.7%
• Record 203 million(3) average monthly unique visitors, an increase of 7.4%
• Digital advertising revenues of $84.7 million grew 4.9%
• Digital Marketing Solutions ("DMS") segment core platform revenues(2) of $119.2 million decreased 1.4% driven primarily by the third quarter home improvement sector performance
• DMS core platform average revenue per user(2) of $2,777 increased 5.3%

Additional Third Quarter 2024 Highlights (Year-Over-Year):

• Total revenues of $612.4 million decreased 6.2%
  • Total revenues were impacted by the decision to sell or shut down certain properties
• Same store revenues(1) decreased 5.3%, reflecting an improvement of 310 basis points
• Net loss attributable to Gannett of $19.7 million, a loss margin of 3.2%
• Adjusted Net loss attributable to Gannett(1) of $6.1 million improved by $16.6 million
• Adjusted EBITDA(1) totaled $62.9 million, an increase of 5.6%
• Adjusted EBITDA(1) margin of 10.3% improved by 120 basis points
• Cash provided by operating activities of $33.7 million, an increase of $13.1 million
• Free cash flow(1) of $19.8 million, an increase of 168%

Third Quarter 2024 Capital Structure Highlights:

• As of September 30, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $101.8 million
• Total principal debt outstanding at September 30, 2024 was $1,061.4 million, including $576.1 million in first lien debt
• First lien net leverage(4) was 1.76x, a decrease of 10.2% compared to the prior year period
• The Company repaid approximately $28.5 million of debt

Full Year 2024 and 2025-2026 Business Outlook(5)

• Full Year 2024 Business Outlook(5)
  • Total digital revenues are expected to grow approximately 6%-7% on a same store basis(1)
  • Total revenues are expected to be down in the low to mid-single digits on a reported and same store basis(1)
  • Net income attributable to Gannett is expected to improve, after excluding an impairment charge of approximately $46.0 million related to the exit of our McLean, Virginia office during the first quarter of 2024
  • Adjusted EBITDA(1) is expected to grow versus the prior year
  • Cash provided by operating activities is expected to grow versus the prior year
  • Free cash flow(1) is expected to grow in excess(6) of the expected growth in Adjusted EBITDA(1) after excluding the estimated $7 million impact of the debt refinancing

• 2025-2026 Business Outlook(5)
  • Total digital revenues are expected to accelerate with growth exceeding 10% year-over-year and are expected to make up 50% of total revenues in 2025 and exceed 55% of total revenues in 2026
  • Total revenues are expected to grow in the low single digits on a reported basis and same store basis(1)
  • Net income attributable to Gannett is expected to improve to positive
  • Adjusted EBITDA(1) is expected to exhibit ongoing growth
  • Cash provided by operating activities is expected to grow with an estimated CAGR(7) of 30%
  • Free cash flow(1) is expected to grow at an accelerated rate with an estimated CAGR(1)(7) of 40%

Financial Highlights

Earnings Conference Call

Management will host a conference call on Thursday, October 31, 2024 at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time to review the financial and operating results for the period. A copy of the earnings release will be posted to the Investor Relations section of Gannett's website, investors.gannett.com. The conference call may be accessed by dialing 1-888-506-0062 (from within the U.S.) or 1-973-528-0011 (from outside of the U.S.) ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call; please reference "Gannett Third Quarter Earnings Call" or access code "926379". We use our website as a channel of distribution for important Company information and we use the investors.gannett.com website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. A simultaneous webcast of the conference call will be available to the public on a listen-only basis at investors.gannett.com. Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the website and download any necessary software required to listen to the internet broadcast. A telephonic replay of the conference call will also be available approximately two hours following the call's completion through 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 14, 2024 by dialing 1-877-481-4010 (from within the U.S.) or 1-919-882-2331 (from outside of the U.S.); please reference access code "50822". A transcript of our earnings call held today also will be posted to the investors.gannett.com website.

About Gannett

Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a diversified media company with expansive reach at the national and local level dedicated to empowering and enriching communities. We seek to inspire, inform, and connect audiences as a sustainable, growth focused media and digital marketing solutions company. We endeavor to deliver essential content, marketing solutions, and experiences for curated audiences, advertisers, consumers, and stakeholders by leveraging our diverse teams and suite of products to enrich the local communities and businesses we serve. Our current portfolio of trusted media brands includes the USA TODAY NETWORK, comprised of the national publication, USA TODAY, and local media organizations in the United States, and Newsquest, a wholly-owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom. Our digital marketing solutions brand, LocaliQ, uses innovation and software to enable small and medium-sized businesses to grow, and USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures, our events division, creates impactful consumer engagements, promotions, and races.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain items in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, our full year 2024 business outlook, our 2025-2026 business outlook, statements regarding our business outlook, digital revenue performance and growth, growth in our Digital Marketing Solutions segment, growth of and demand for our digital-only subscriptions and audience, digital marketing and advertising services, digital revenues, monetization of our audience, print advertising trends and revenues, expected results of our targeting and pricing models, expectations regarding our cash from operating activities, free cash flows, compound annual growth rates ("CAGR"), revenues, net income (loss) attributable to Gannett, Adjusted EBITDA, same store revenues and cash flows, expectations regarding our long-term growth, sustainable growth, and inflection in our revenue, our ability to create long-term stockholder value, our expectations, in terms of both amount and timing, with respect to debt repayment, our expectations with respect to the effects of our refinancing transaction, our expected capital expenditures, expectations regarding real estate and non-strategic asset sales, the impact from changes at our McLean, Virginia property, our strategy, our partnerships, our ability to achieve our operating priorities, our long-term opportunities, economic impacts, our ability to navigate volatility, achieve our financial goals, optimize our capital structure and achieve optimal financial performance, our cost structure, future revenue and expense trends, and our ability to influence trends. Words such as "expect(s)", "believe(s)", "will", "outlook", "guidance", "estimate(s)", "project(s)", "suggest", "trend", "focus", and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These and other risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control. The Company can give no assurance its expectations will be attained. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this press release. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could cause actual results to differ from such forward-looking statements, see the risks and other factors detailed from time to time in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict or assess the impact of every factor that may cause its actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Except to the extent required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

USE OF NON-GAAP INFORMATION

The Company uses non-GAAP financial performance and liquidity measures to supplement the financial information presented on a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") basis. These non-GAAP financial performance and liquidity measures, which may not be comparable to, and may be defined differently than, similarly titled measures used or reported by other companies, should not be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for the related U.S. GAAP measures and should be read together with financial information presented on a U.S. GAAP basis.

We define our non-GAAP financial performance and liquidity measures as follows:

• Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial performance measure we believe offers a useful view of the overall and segment operations of our business. We define Adjusted EBITDA as Net income (loss) attributable to Gannett before (1) Income tax expense (benefit), (2) Interest expense, (3) Gains or losses on the early extinguishment of debt, (4) Non-operating pension income, (5) Loss on convertible notes derivative, (6) Depreciation and amortization, (7) Integration and reorganization costs, (8) Third-party debt expenses and acquisition costs, (9) Asset impairments, (10) Goodwill and intangible impairments, (11) Gains or losses on the sale or disposal of assets, (12) Share-based compensation, (13) Other non-operating (income) expense, net, and (14) Non-recurring items. The most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial performance measure is Net income (loss) attributable to Gannett.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin is a non-GAAP financial performance measure we believe offers a useful view of the overall and segment operations of our business. We define Adjusted EBITDA margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by total Revenues.
• Adjusted Net income (loss) attributable to Gannett is a non-GAAP financial performance measure we believe offers a useful view of the overall operations of our business and is useful to analysts and investors in evaluating the results of operations and operational trends. We define Adjusted Net income (loss) attributable to Gannett as Net income (loss) attributable to Gannett before (1) Gains or losses on the early extinguishment of debt, (2) Loss on convertible notes derivative, (3) Integration and reorganization costs, (4) Third-party debt expenses and acquisition costs, (5) Asset impairments, (6) Goodwill and intangibles impairments, (7) Gains or losses on the sale or disposal of assets, (8) Other items, including (Gain) loss on sale of investments, and (9) the tax impact of the above items.

For investor inquiries, contact:
Matt Esposito
Investor Relations
703-854-3000
investors@gannett.com

For media inquiries, contact:
Lark-Marie Anton
Corporate Communications
646-906-4087
lark@gannett.com