UK regional newspaper company Johnston Press said today it expected a satisfactory outcome for the year as the rate of decline in advertising revenue slowed.
Like-for-like advertising revenues fell 2.3 per cent for the 5 months to June 2nd, the company said in a statement, compared with a fall of 2.9 per cent from the first nine weeks of the year.
The company said ad revenues in the Republic where it owns the Score Press and Leinster Leader groups of newspapers grew by 10.5 per cent in the period.
It said circulation revenues were ahead of last year, and it expected this to continue into the second half.
"The revenue performance and outlook is consistent with that anticipated by the board at the start of the year, and therefore we would expect a satisfactory outcome for the year as a whole," it said in a statement.
The group said property remained the only print category of advertising to grow year-on-year, but it said the rate of decline in employment ad revenues had slowed, with some regions showing growth.
While revenues from motors, display and classified categories continued to fall, the rate of decline was less than those experienced in the second half of last year, it said.
The group said digital revenues continued to show good growth, up 34.7 per cent in the five months.