Gannett(GCI)2025-02-20 13:06Digital Revenue Performance - Total digital revenues exceeded 45% of total revenues in Q4 2024, amounting to over 49.0 million in Q4 2024[7] - Digital revenues increased to 277.1 million in Q4 2023[17] - Digital revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024, increased by 5.1% to 1,050,370,000 in 2023[32] - Domestic Gannett Media's digital-only ARPU increased to 7.09 in Q4 2023[36] - Total Gannett's digital-only ARPU rose to 7.05 in Q4 2023[36] - Digital-only paid subscriptions for Domestic Gannett Media reached 1,953 thousand, a 2.1% increase from 1,912 thousand in 2023[36] - Newsquest's digital-only paid subscriptions surged by 32.5% to 110 thousand in Q4 2024 from 83 thousand in Q4 2023[36] - Total Gannett's digital-only paid subscriptions grew to 2,063 thousand, marking a 3.4% increase from 1,995 thousand in 2023[36] Financial Performance - Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 2024 totaled 621.3 million, a decrease of 7.2% due to the sale or shutdown of non-strategic assets[7] - Net income attributable to Gannett for Q4 2024 was 64,319,000, up from a net loss of 273,189,000, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.9%[29] - The net income attributable to Gannett for the year ended December 31, 2024, was (27,791,000) in 2023[30] - The company reported a net income margin of 10.4% for Q4 2024, compared to a negative margin of 3.4% for Q4 2023, indicating a strong recovery[28] Cash Flow and Debt - Cash provided by operating activities is projected to grow by over 30% in 2025, while free cash flow is expected to increase by over 40% compared to the prior year[11] - As of December 31, 2024, the company had cash and cash equivalents of 1,111.8 million[11] - Cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024, was 94.6 million in 2023[18] - Free cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2024, was 56,458,000 in 2023[31] - Gannett's interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2024, was 111,776,000 in 2023[29] Operational Metrics - Average monthly unique visitors reached 200 million in Q4 2024, a 7% increase year-over-year, with approximately 149 million from the U.S. media network[6] - The company expects total digital revenues to grow approximately 7%-10% on a same-store basis in 2025, aiming for digital revenues to constitute 50% of total revenues[11] - The average customer count for the core platform decreased to 13.9 thousand in Q4 2024, down 6.7% from 14.9 thousand in Q4 2023[36] - The core platform average customer count for the year ended December 31, 2024, was 14.3 thousand, a decline of 5.3% from 15.1 thousand in 2023[36] - Overall, Gannett's performance indicates a mixed trend in revenue and user growth, with digital ARPU showing positive growth while customer counts are declining[36] Asset and Liability Overview - Total assets decreased to 2.18 billion at the end of 2023[16] - Total liabilities increased slightly to 1.86 billion in 2023[16] - Gannett's total equity fell to 317.3 million in 2023[16] - The company entered into an asset purchase agreement to divest the Austin American-Statesman, expected to close in Q1 2025[11] Management and Future Outlook - Management emphasizes the importance of non-GAAP measures in evaluating performance, results of operations, and financial position, despite their limitations[25] - The company expects to provide non-GAAP outlooks for Same store revenues, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free cash flow for the full year 2025, without factoring in future acquisitions or dispositions[27] - Integration and reorganization costs for the year ended December 31, 2024, totaled 24,468,000 in 2023[30]