Gannett profit beats estimates as digital business soars

(Reuters) - Gannett Co Inc, publisher of USA Today, reported a better-than-expected profit as revenue from its digital business soared. Revenue in the digital business, which includes Cars.com and CareerBuilder.com, jumped 85.1 percent to $332.7 million in the first quarter ended March 29, from a year earlier. Revenue from the publishing business fell 13.9 percent to $50.5 million. Gannett said in August that it would spin off its print operations, including USA Today, joining a host of media companies separating slower-growing publishing assets from TV and digital properties. In March, activist investor Carl Icahn withdrew his nominations to the company's board. Icahn also agreed not to acquire or own more than 15 percent of Gannett's or the spun-off business's voting securities. Net income attributable to Gannett rose to $112.9 million, or 49 cents per share, in the first quarter, from $59.2 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned 49 cents per share, above the average analyst estimate of 45 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Cost of sales and operating expenses fell 8.7 percent to $700.6 million. Revenue rose 5 percent to $1.47 billion. Analysts on average had expected $1.52 billion. Gannett's shares closed at $35.14 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)