British regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press beat market forecasts with a leap in half-year profits today and said the second half had started well.
Shares in the firm, which numbers the Yorkshire Evening Postand the Sheffield Evening Staramong more than 200 titles, rose 2.2 per cent to 443 pence earlier this morning, outperforming the wider market, as it predicted continued modest advertising revenue growth.
Johnston Press, which gets more than three-quarters of its revenues from advertising, has fared better than most other publishers in one of the worst industry downturns on record, thanks to the resilience of local-newspaper ads posted by estate agents, recruitment agencies and small businesses.
Pre-tax profits for the six months to end-June were £66.7 million sterling, exceeding a forecast range of £61-£63 million. Like-for-like advertising revenue increased three per cent in the six months ended June 30th. Like-for-like growth excludes revenue from recently acquired Regional Independent Media, publisher of the Yorkshire Post.
Chief executive Mr Tim Bowdler said like-for-like ad revenue growth in July was around 2.5 per cent.
"We're continuing to see growth at around the rate of the first half," he told reporters in a conference call.