Gannett earnings slip as publishing revenue drops

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Excluding special items, earnings were 56 cents vs. 58 cents in 2011.

Gracia Martore, president and chief executive officer, said, "All of Gannett's business segments remained solidly profitable in the second quarter, with broadcasting and digital operations delivering strong revenue growth. Broadcasting results were positively impacted by significantly higher core and politically related ad demand and retransmission revenue."

She said she expects the subscription program rolled out at half the company's community newspaper websites to to produce 25% year-over-year growth in circulation revenue.

Net income for the second quarter totaled $119.9 million. Operating income was $216.5 million. Operating cash flow in the quarter — operating income plus special items, depreciation and amortization — was $285 million.

Operating revenue for the company was $1.31 billion, a decline of just 2.1% from the second quarter of 2011. Broadcasting revenue was up 11.4% . Digital revenue was up 4.5% due primarily to revenue growth at CareerBuilder.

Publishing revenue was 5.8% lower, reflecting softer advertising demand in April and late June.