Scottish media group Johnston Press reported a 32.7 per cent drop in first-half advertising revenues as recruitment and property ad space shrank in tandem with the ongoing recession in the UK and Ireland.
Total revenues fell 25.4 per cent to £218.6 million (€248.2 million) in the first half but the company said it saw ad revenues stabilising, with the rate of decline slowing to 26.1 per cent in the first eight weeks of the second half.
The group owns 13 regional newspapers in Ireland and has spent €260 million acquiring its Irish titles over the past four years. These titles include the Limerick Leader, Kilkenny People, Leinster Leaderand Tallaght Echo.
"The timing of the economic upturn remains uncertain but advertising revenues are demonstrating greater stability and we expect the cyclical improvement when it comes to more than compensate any ongoing structural change," the company said.
Operating profit fell 53 per cent to £38.2 million and the company said it would not pay an interim dividend.
Johnston said it remained strongly cash-generative and had agreed a new, three-year facility with its lenders, although the cost of borrowing had increased considerably.
British national newspaper groups Trinity Mirror and Daily Mail & General Trust have also reported double-digit declines in advertising, but Johnston's exclusively regional portfolio exposes it more to classified ad weakness.
Reuters