Advertising decline for JP

NEWSPAPER publisher Johnston Press saw advertising revenues drop over the first 18 weeks of the year.

The owner of newspaper titles including the Yorkshire Post and The Star in Sheffield said print and digital revenues were down 9.1% compared to the same period in 2011.

However, the group said the decline had slowed in the second quarter of the year to date.

Within classified print advertising, employment was the weakest performing category, and Johnston said print display advertising had a “difficult” start to the year.

However, the group described the performance of its digital revenues as “excellent” and up 13.9% in the first 18 weeks.

Net debt was £363.3m at the end of April and its reduction is a key focus for the group.
 
Johnston said: “The advertising outlook for the year remains volatile, but we anticipate that the strategy that the group has set out will provide benefits from the relaunches of all of the group’s paid-for titles during the year, along with continued improvement in digital performance throughout 2012. 

“We expect that the results for the full year will be in line with market expectations.”

Johnston also announced today an agreement with Motors.co.uk through which it will launch a new local, online motors platform powered by the UK’s second largest car search response network. 

The motors platform will be integrated within each of Johnston’s local websites and will carry the local website brand.

The group’s chief executive Ashley Highfield unveiled a major overhaul of the business last month.