Sales fall hits Johnston Press
NEWSPAPER group Johnston Press, publisher of the Yorkshire Post, today missed market expectations for first-half sales as advertising revenues dropped 10% but beat profit forecasts thanks to cost-cutting.
The Edinburgh-based group, which publishes more than 300 local and regional UK newspapers, saw sales fall 6.3% to £293.1m in the six months to June 30.
Pre-tax profits fell 18.1% to £62.5m, but beat market expectations as Johnston Press said it had cut costs by £7.6m and would continue to actively manage costs.
Chief executive Tim Bowdler said that advertising revenues were down 21% during the first seven weeks of the second half of the year.
“Advertising trends have continued to deteriorate over the course of the year and future performance will inevitably be linked to the economies of the UK and to a lesser extent that of the Republic of Ireland.
“In response to the current challenging circumstances, we continue to actively manage our cost base to achieve productivity gains and in a manner which will protect the long term prospects of the group. We expect to deliver a result reflective of these initiatives and the difficult market conditions,” he said.
The group, which owns The Scotsman, Yorkshire Evening Post, Sheffield Star and Halifax Courier, has raised £212m through a discounted rights issue which saw Malaysian investment firm Usaha Tegas taking a 20% stake.
