UK: DMGT's newspapers prove their robustness

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 24, 2006 at 12:52 PM

Daily Mail & General Trust reported on Nov. 23rd a pre-tax full-year profit up to 260 million BP from 237 million BP a year ago. The revenues are even better than expected, as City analysts had projected revenues of about 245 million BP.

The growth was explained by good performance in online and business-to-business revenue. The ‘best’ part of this news though: national newspaper revenues showed feeble signs of recovery.

"The newspapers are proving very robust," said DMGT’s finance director, Peter Williams. "There are some signs of improvement in the last couple of months." "We are pleasantly surprised by how well the Standard is holding up," he added.

Of course the roundup remains contrasted. Ad revenues for Associated Newspapers decreased by 6%, and the increased operating profits for Associated Papers (1 million BP) had much to do with the cost cuts established this year – 11 million BP. DMGT’s regional publishing division, NorthCliffe Newspapers, saw its ad revenues drop 8%.

While newspapers may prove to be robust, online revenues were DMGT’s real jackpot. Digital operations revenues doubled in a year, to 55 million BP. The brave resistance of newspapers won’t reverse the trend.

Source: The Guardian

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