Gannett's results show that Newsquest's classified ad revenue was down 45.1%, in pounds sterling, year on year, fuelled by massive declines of 60% in property advertising, 51.4% in recruitment and 43.2% in motors.
This follows similarly sharp declines in Q4 2008, when Newsquest ad revenue fell by 29.3% year on year, with classified revenue down 35.3% year on year.
Gannett does not break out overall ad revenue or profit for Newsquest. However, it said its overall publishing operations, which include Newsquest and its US operations such as USA Today, posted a 26.9% decline in revenue year on year to $1.1bn for the quarter. Ad revenue at its US publishing operations fell 28.2% year on year.
Gannett chairman, president and chief executive, Craig Dubow, said its overall performance was dragged down by poor performances by its US and UK publishing business.
He added: "While revenue in the quarter benefited from growth in our digital segment and significantly higher retransmission fees for our [US] television stations, our results reflect the pressure on advertising demand across all of our business segments, due to continuing recessions in the US and the UK."
Newsquest operates 300 newspaper titles in the UK, including The Argus in Brighton and Scotland's Sunday Herald.
In January, Gannett said it was taking a $5.2bn hit as it looked to write down the value of its assets, including its UK operation. Unveiling the Q4 2008 results, Gannett said it would take a cash charge of up to $5.2bn, after taxes, related to a reduction in the value of its assets, as a result of what it termed "the worldwide financial meltdown".
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