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Johnston Press profits tumble in year

Tuesday, March 19 11:43:09

Full year profits at Johnston Press, which owns several regional titles in Ireland, tumbled in its last full year as advertising revenues fell sharply, it said today.

It slashed its pre-tax loss to £6.8m last year, as the regional newspaper publisher made almost £40m in savings at the expense of more than 1,300 jobs.

The publisher, which made a £144m loss in 2011 thanks to a write-down in the book value of its 200-plus newspapers, cut its cost base by more than 12pc or £37.6m last year.

The restructure, part of chief executive Ashley Highfield's plan to digitally transition the regional newspaper business, resulted in the loss of just over 23pc of its workforce last year.

Johnston Press started 2012 with a headcount of more than 5,650, and ended it with 4,350, according to the company's annual results for the year to 29 December.

Pre-tax profit fell to £12.6m on an underlying basis in the year ended December 29, from £28.4m a year earlier, while revenue fell 12pc to £328.7m. The group said advertising revenue declined 12.7pc to £201.9m.

Johnston Press owns several regional newspapers in Ireland, including the Limerick Leader, the Leinster Leader and the Kilkenny People.