Presentation
Management
USA TODAY Co., Inc. (TDAY)
Q4 2018 Earnings Call· Wed, Feb 20, 2019
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Presentation
Management
Operator
Operator
Good day, ladies and gentlemen. And welcome to the Q4 2018 Gannett Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session and instructions will follow at that time [Operator Instructions]. As a reminder, today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to introduce your host for today's call, Ms. Stacy Cunningham, Vice President of Financial Planning and Investor Relations. Ms. Cunningham, you may begin.
Stacy Cunningham
Analyst
Thank you. Good morning, everyone. And welcome to Gannett's Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2018 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, this call is being recorded and webcast. Joining us today from Gannett are Bob Dickey, President and Chief Executive Officer and Ali Engel, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I would like to call your attention to our Safe Harbor provision for forward-looking statements in our financial results press release. The Safe Harbor provision identifies risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the contents of our forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risk factors that may affect our results, please refer to our financial results press release and our SEC filings, including our 2017 Form 10-K. Also during this call, management's commentary will include non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP metrics for our reported results can be found in the tables of our financial results press release, which we have been posted to our Investor Relations, which we have posted to our investor relations Web site. With these formalities out of the way, I'd now like to turn the call over to Bob.
Bob Dickey
Analyst
Thanks, Stacy. Good morning and thank you for joining us today. Before we discuss our performance for the quarter and the year, I'd like to briefly hedge some of the recent news regarding Gannett. On February 4th, we announced that our Board of Directors unanimously rejected an solicited proposal from MNG Enterprises to acquire Gannett for $12 per share in cash. After careful review and consideration conducted in consultation with financial and legal advisors, the Gannett Board concluded that MNG's unsolicited proposal undervalued Gannett, is not in the best interest of the company and our shareholders and is not creditable. During the meeting between representatives of Gannett and MNG on February 7th, at which MNG once again failed to provide substantive answers to basic questions about its ability to finance and close its proposed transaction. MNG notified Gannett of its intent to nominate six candidates to stand for elections to Gannett's Board of Directors at the company's 2019 Annual Meeting. All of the candidates nominated are affiliated with MNG and/or its majority of shareholder, Alden Global Capital. Gannett will provide another set of data in 2019 Annual Meeting and the board recommended director nominees in our proxy statement and other materials to be filed with the SEC and mailed to shareholders. For further information, I would refer you to the public press releases of these topics that the company has issued over recent weeks. Our focus today is on our financial results and we don't intend to comment further about these matters on this call. With that, I'm going to move on to our fourth quarter and full-year highlights from our marketing solutions and consumer organizations, followed by discussion of our strategic priorities for 2019. I will then turn it over to Ali, who will conclude with our detailed financial…
Ali Engel
Analyst
Thank you, Bob, and good morning everyone. One quick housekeeping item to start. Our fourth quarter of 2018 had 92 days, while the fourth quarter of 2017 had 98 days. We estimate the six days accounted for $41 million in revenue and $30 million in adjusted EBITDA. When further comparing the 92-day course, in 2018, we had one less Sunday and one more Monday as compared to 2017. These day trades have a material impact on our print, advertising and circulation revenues, and therefore, we have provided metrics adjusted for the day trades. Looking ahead to 2019, we anticipate the day trades will positively impact our first quarter and they will negatively impact our third quarter. Consolidated revenues were $751 million compared to $854 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. The revenue decline reflects the loss of six days and the challenging print advertising and single copy circulation environment, partially offset by the WordStream acquisition, full access subscriber pricing initiatives and digital and marketing services revenue growth. On a same-store day-adjusted basis, total revenues declined 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Further adjusting for the day trades, the decline was 7.4%. Total digital revenues of $272 million, represented 36% of total revenue, up from 32% a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $111 million for the quarter, down 16% from last year. The solid growth in our ReachLocal segment and the addition of WordStream did not entirely offset the revenue pressures within the Publishing segment. Total fourth quarter same-store day-adjusted operating expenses fell approximately 7% year-over-year, reflecting production and distribution savings as a result of facility consolidations and lower payroll and benefits expenses. These reductions were offset in part by expense increases at our ReachLocal segment associated with higher revenues and the impact of higher newsprint prices. Turning to the Publishing…
Operator
Operator
[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Michael Kupinski with Noble Capital Market.
Michael Kupinski
Analyst
Bob Dickey
Analyst
Michael Kupinski
Analyst
Bob Dickey
Analyst
Michael Kupinski
Analyst
Bob Dickey
Analyst
Ali Engel
Analyst
Michael Kupinski
Analyst
Bob Dickey
Analyst
Operator
Operator
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, our next question comes from Doug Arthur with Huber Research.
Doug Arthur
Analyst · Huber Research.
Ali Engel
Analyst · Huber Research.
Doug Arthur
Analyst · Huber Research.
Ali Engel
Analyst · Huber Research.
Doug Arthur
Analyst · Huber Research.
Ali Engel
Analyst · Huber Research.
Doug Arthur
Analyst · Huber Research.
Bob Dickey
Analyst · Huber Research.
Ali Engel
Analyst · Huber Research.
Bob Dickey
Analyst · Huber Research.
Doug Arthur
Analyst · Huber Research.
Bob Dickey
Analyst · Huber Research.
Doug Arthur
Analyst · Huber Research.
Bob Dickey
Analyst · Huber Research.
Operator
Operator
Thank you. Our next question comes from Alexia Quadrani with JPMorgan.
Unidentified Analyst
Analyst · JPMorgan.
Ali Engel
Analyst · JPMorgan.
Bob Dickey
Analyst · JPMorgan.
Operator
Operator
Thank you. Our next question or our final question comes from Kyle Evans with Stephens.
Kyle Evans
Analyst
Ali Engel
Analyst
Kyle Evans
Analyst
Bob Dickey
Analyst
Ali Engel
Analyst
Kyle Evans
Analyst
Ali Engel
Analyst
Kyle Evans
Analyst
Ali Engel
Analyst
Operator
Operator
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation in today's question-and-answer session, as well as today's call. This concludes the program. You may all disconnect and have a wonderful day.