Two of the leading newspaper publishers in the US have reported a rise in profits for the third quarter as signs abound of a recovery in the advertising market.
Gannett, which owns
USA Today and several hundred regional titles, said that profits were up 5% to $279 million in the three months to the end of September. Newsquest, the group’s UK publishing business, experienced 11% growth during the period in question.
Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, saw profits leap to $9.1 million. Advertising volume at the WSJ rose by 29.4% in September and by 7.1% in the quarter as a whole. Ad revenues across the group grew by 6.7% to $375.9 million in the three month period but management remains less than exuberant about the economic situation.
“A quarter like this feels good but we need to keep these results in context,” said Peter Kann, chairman and CEO of Dow Jones. “While we’re encouraged by what we believe are incipient indications of a business-to-business advertising recovery, we’re still below what we consider to be a normal year in terms of advertising levels and profits.”
