British newspaper group Daily Mail & General Trust beat its guidance with a 23 per cent drop in full-year pretax profit and said profitability at its UK consumer businesses had sharply improved in the second half.
The group, whose properties include trade publications, events and newspapers led by Britain's top mid-market tabloid
The Daily Mail, said adjusted revenue fell 8 per cent to £.118 billion, mainly on lower ad sales.
Newspapers globally have suffered from sharp cuts in advertising budgets during the recession, especially regional papers, which are more vulnerable to weaker property and recruitment advertising.
Business-to-business media, typically paid for by subscription, have held up far better so far, although there are fears that the effects of the recession will be felt later.
Daily Mail's adjusted pretax profit was £201 million for the year to end-September, while earnings per share fell 22 per cent to 37.2 pence. Both were better than the company's guidance, thanks to cost cuts and a stabilising environment.
"We remain focused on cash generation, debt reduction and cost efficiency," the company said in a statement today.
Net debt fell during the second half but rose slightly during the full year to £1.049 billion from £1.015 billion, mainly due to the depreciation of sterling against the dollar.
All divisions except regional newspaper unit Northcliffe Media maintained or increased profit margins.
Business-to-business operations increased profits by 7 per cent, thanks to the weaker sterling rate, contributing 73 per cent of group operating profit. Consumer newspaper profits were sharply down, despite the better second half.
Reuters