Johnston Press reports first profit in four years

REGIONAL newspaper publisher Johnston Press returned to profit in the first half of 2010 but still saw advertising revenues in its Irish operations fall by 29% on a year-on-year basis.

The Scottish company, which bought into the Irish market in 2005 through its €236m acquisition of the Leinster Leader Group, reported a pre-tax profit of £26.1 million (€32m) for the six months to the first week of July. This figure was up from a pre-tax loss of £94.2m last year.

Although group revenue and earnings per share were down, when measured on a year-on-year basis, JP managed to generate its first operating profit in four years, with last year’s first half operating loss of £93.6m being reversed into a profit of £44m. JP shares closed up 8.5% at £0.16.

Overall, JP said that its outlook is positive, with the early stages of the second half of the year showing improved trends in advertising. The first six months of its fiscal year saw a stabilisation in overall ad revenue performance, down by 6.3%, following a full-year decline of nearly 33% in 2009. Advertising revenues have continued to improve in the early stages of the second half of the year. However, the Irish operations of the group — which cover 13 newspaper titles, including the Kilkenny People and the Limerick Leader — continued to disappoint.

Despite previously being a strong performer for the group, advertising revenues in Ireland dipped by 29% on a year-on-year basis. “The lack of any significant improvement in the economic position of the Republic of Ireland has meant that this division continues to underperform,” the company said.

On a group-wide basis, net debt was reduced by £21m, to just over £401m, and management said full-year performance should meet market expectations.