Newsquest classifieds drop 45 per cent but share price in parent company Gannett rises

Gannett, US parent company of regional publisher Newsquest, has reported classified revenues in the UK down 45.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2009.
The UK figures include a 60 per cent fall in property advertising, 51.4 per cent drop in jobs and 43.2 per cent decline in car advertising.
Gannett chief executive Craig Dubow said: "Our results reflect the pressure on advertising demand across all of our business segments due to continuing recessions in the US and the UK. Our results, however, highlight the positive impact of the company's efforts to operate its businesses as cost efficiently as possible."
Gannett, the biggest US publisher by circulation, reported operating revenues for the company were $1.4 billion in the first quarter compared to $1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2008. The profit figures met analysts estimates and led to a sharp rise in Gannett's share price.
Bloomberg reports Edward Atorino, a New York- based analyst at Benchmark Co., saying of Gannett: “They did a good job managing costs because their revenue was down pretty significantly. Gannett’s results weren’t worse than expected and, in this environment, that’s a good thing.”