Print Units Up 3% in First Half of 2017

Gannett Co., Inc. has closed a majority investment in Grateful Ventures, LLC (“Grateful”), an online media and publishing company which focuses on building lifestyle content and monetization strategies for high-influence food and cooking websites and bloggers. This investment will expand and diversify USA TODAY NETWORK’s portfolio and audience, and significantly increase the number of Gannett’s owned and operated digital sites. As a part of USA TODAY NETWORK, Grateful will launch in 2018 into several new personality-driven lifestyle categories with long-tail content, videos, live interactions, event integrations and passion topics to create deep, meaningful connections with readers across multiple platforms. These new initiatives with Grateful will increase USA TODAY NETWORK’s advertising offerings through influencer marketing, branded content and events sponsorships with consumers who are deeply engaged. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Net sales increased 43% to $51.0 billion in the first quarter, compared with $35.7 billion in first quarter 2017. Excluding the $1.6 billion favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 39% compared with first quarter 2017. Operating income increased 92% to $1.9 billion in the first quarter, compared with operating income of $1.0 billion in first quarter 2017. Net income was $1.6 billion in the first quarter, or $3.27 per diluted share, compared with net income of $724 million, or $1.48 per diluted share, in first quarter 2017. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Postal Regulatory Commission released today its Financial Analysis report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. The in-depth analysis of the Postal Service’s financial performance concluded that the organization’s overall financial condition continues to worsen. In FY 2023, the Postal Service recorded a net operating loss of $2.3 billion — an increase of $1.8 billion over the previous year. When non-operating expenses are included, the overall net loss increases to $6.5 billion. The primary highlights from the report were: *The Postal Service had a net loss of $6.5 billion. *Total Factor Productivity, a measure of Postal Service efficiency, saw the largest decrease (4 percent) since it was first calculated in 1965. *Total mail volume decreased by 8.7 percent, including a 2.0 percent decrease in the volume of Competitive products. *Revenue from Competitive products increased by $0.2 billion. *Despite rate increases, Market Dominant revenue decreased by $0.4 billion. *Total operating expenses were $2.1 billion higher than the previous year. *The Postal Service recorded total assets of $45.3 billion and total liabilities of $68.4 billion at the end of FY 2023.