SAN FRANCISCO -- Newspapers may have stopped or slowed their descent into a financial abyss after three years of plunging revenues, crumbling stock prices and shrinking staffs.
On Tuesday, Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, announced that its third-quarter earnings would be substantially above forecasts.
Although Gannett's revenue for the period, which ended Sunday, was slightly below analysts' projections, executives said newspaper advertising sales hadn't dropped as much as in the first and second quarters.
Excluding one-time charges, Gannett said it would report earnings of 39 to 42 cents per share Oct. 19. The average analyst estimate had been 29 cents, Thomson Reuters said.
Gannett said revenue would be $1.31 billion or $1.32 billion, below the average forecast of $1.38 billion and 20 percent less than last year's equivalent.
Shares rose $1.76, or 18 percent, to close Tuesday at $11.74. The New York Times Co. climbed 40 cents, or 5 percent, to $8.39; Lee Enterprises Inc. soared 89 cents, or 42 percent, to $3.03; Media General Inc. gained $1.07, or 14 percent, to $8.97; and McClatchy Co. was up 25 cents, or 6 percent, to $2.65.
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