Gannett said it faced a "softer" economic environment, echoing the comments of other U.S. newspaper publishers this week.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Newspaper publisher and broadcaster Gannett Co Inc <GCI.N> posted a 31 percent decline in quarterly profit on Friday due to lower broadcast and print ad sales and an impairment charge.
Gannett said it faced a "softer" economic environment, echoing the comments of other U.S. newspaper publishers this week.
The USA Today publisher said fourth-quarter net income fell to $245.3 million, or $1.06 per share, from $353.5 million, or $1.51 per share, a year earlier.
Revenue fell 12 percent to $1.9 billion, below the average Wall Street forecast of $1.99 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Excluding an impairment charge of 22 cents a share, Gannett's profit was $1.28 per share, narrowly beating the average Wall Street estimate of $1.27.
Newspaper advertising revenue fell 12.2 percent to $1.25 billion. Broadcasting revenue fell 21.7 percent to $212.0 million. Gannett's fiscal fourth quarter consisted of one less week this year than in the year-earlier period.
Advertising revenue at the flagship USA Today fell 16.7 percent.
(Reporting by Kenneth Li; editing by John Wallace)
