Mirror publisher Reach plc says it is on track for the year after seeing digital growth from events including the European Championships and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and the General Election.
The media giant, which publishes titles including BusinessLive, the Manchester Evening News, Wales Online, the Daily Record and the Express, today issued results for the six months to 30 June 2024.
Reach said revenue for the period fell 5.2% to £265m. Digital revenue of £60m was broadly in line with last year (HY23: £60.8m), and momentum improved across the period with growth of 6.7% in the second quarter.
Print circulation revenue of £149.9m (HY23: £155.4m) and print advertising revenue of £32.7m (HY23: £37.0m) outperformed volume decline. Meanwhile the group said “early and effective action on costs has delivered targeted cost savings”, with total adjusted operating costs cut by 9.3% to £221.8m.
That meant adjusted operating profit rose by 23.1%, and at an improved margin of 16.8%. Reach said it would “continue to deliver returns for shareholders with the interim dividend maintained at 2.88p.”
The group’s Customer Value Strategy to bolster digital growth has helped push data-driven revenue growth up 9% to £27.2m. Those revenues now represent 45% of total digital revenues, up from 41% last year.
It hailed its return to digital revenue growth, saying: “The performance over the second quarter has been bolstered by strong multi-platform content around key events, including the European Football Championships, UK general election and Taylor Swift Eras tour. As expected, yield continued to improve, driving growth across the digital estate.”
Chief executive Jim Mullen said: "We are pleased to have delivered further operational progress this year, with our commercial and editorial teams making the most of the strong news agenda.
“Our Customer Value Strategy continues to deliver long-term success, with an increasing share of data-driven digital revenue as well as digital growth returning in Q2. Alongside our expertise in managing our print product, we have traded our digital assets hard and delivered an operating margin improvement.
