Mixed bag of results from Birmingham Post owner
NEWSPAPER group Trinity Mirror has produced good and bad news. Its operating profit increased by 11.5% but its revenue fell by 4%.
In its half-yearly financial report, the publisher of the Birmingham Post, the Birmingham Mail, the Coventry Telegraph and the Stafford Post newspapers, declared an operating profit of £52.5m for the 26 weeks to July 1 (2011: £47.1m) but revealed revenue was down at £356m (2011: £371m).
Chairman David Grigson said: “We increased the profitability of our core print assets and we are continuing to invest in the technology-led transformation of our publishing capabilities and in new products and services across multiple digital channels.
“Operating cash flow remains strong with net debt reduced by £40.3m to £180.9m since the year end. We made a repayment of £69.7m of maturing private placement loan notes and our leverage continues to fall rapidly from 2.3 times at December 2009 to 1.3 times at June 2012.”
Looking to the future, Grigson said: “Although the trading environment is expected to remain difficult, the board anticipates that through strong operational management and the benefit of a fall in newsprint prices for the second half, we will deliver an outcome for 2012 which will be ahead of current expectations.”
