Gannett earnings update

Sphincters are tightening at 14 O.Henry Ave., Asheville:

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) — Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, said fourth-quarter profit declined 31 percent as classified sales fell.

Net income dropped to $245.3 million, or $1.06 a share, from $353.5 million, or $1.51 a share, a year earlier, McLean, Virginia-based Gannett said today in a statement. Excluding some items, profit was $1.28 a share, compared with the $1.29 average of 11 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales dropped 12 percent to $1.9 billion.

Gannett’s newspaper advertising sales were hurt in California, Arizona and Florida, where the declining housing markets reduced real estate listings. The company’s efforts to expand the Web sites of its 85 U.S. daily newspapers and the October acquisition of a stake in a network of local entertainment sites failed to make up for falling print ad sales.

Gannett, owner of USA Today and 23 broadcast TV stations, fell 58 cents to $36.93 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock, trading near a 10-year low, had declined 36 percent in the past 12 months before today.