USPS Highest Service Performance Scores Across All Mail Categories Since Pre-2021 Holiday Season

Gannett Co., Inc. announced that it has refinanced approximately $500 million of its 11.5% term loan, maturing in 2024, with 6.0% convertible notes due in 2027. The refinancing reduces the outstanding term loan to $1.118 billion. “We are pleased to announce the refinancing, which we believe has three key benefits,” said Michael Reed, Gannett Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “First, it generates significant savings, reducing our annual interest expense by approximately $28 million per year. These savings will be used to accelerate repayment of our term loan. Second, we believe that this refinancing paves the way for a refinancing of the remaining term loan by reducing the outstanding balance. And third, it extends the maturity of approximately $500 million of debt by three years. Since putting the term loan in place in November 2019, we have repaid over $175 million to date, and we expect to repay an additional $100 million in the coming months. Pro forma for these repayments, the outstanding term loan will be approximately $1 billion, which we believe we can refinance on attractive terms by the end of the first half of 2021. As we improve the Company’s capital structure, we are also seeing continued improvement in our revenue trends, which we expect will drive strong fourth quarter results.”

Fiction rode to the rescue again to lift up unit sales of print books 6.4% last week over the week ended June 27, 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Adult fiction sales increased 28.1%, young adult fiction sales jumped 49.6%, and juvenile fiction sales were up 11.2% over last year. The jumps offset continued weakness in adult nonfiction, the industry’s biggest category, where sales fell 8.7%. The big gain in adult fiction unit sales was notable since the increase was achieved without any new releases making a splash. The President’s Daughter by James Patterson and Bill Clinton remained #1 on the category list, selling more than 30,000 copies. Two books released early this spring had good weeks: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, released on May 11, sold over 21,000 copies, good enough for fourth place on the adult fiction list; and Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which came out on June 1, was fifth on the list, selling over 18,000 copies.

The American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Heidi Brock issued the following statement regarding the recent strike of ILA workers across the U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports. “This strike will have serious consequences for the U.S. economy and the manufacturing sector, including industries like ours that rely heavily on port activity for exporting goods. Without access to ports, our member companies face tough choices, including whether to pause or shut down mills and facilities, putting high-paying jobs in rural areas at risk. “We urge the Biden Administration to work with the ILA and USMX to quickly bring an end to this strike and restore essential ports operations.”