As reported by the Newspaper Society: Against a difficult trading environment, the publisher said total revenues were down 8.2 per cent to £176.1 million, but that digital revenues had increased by 8.4 per cent.
Digital local display and property revenues had grown by 43.8 per cent and 25.2 per cent, and mobile audiences were up by 100 per cent since December 2011. The group’s portfolio of websites would be relaunched with social media extensions and more tablet apps would be launched. There were no further plans to convert daily titles to weeklies.
The publisher’s reach across paid-for print and online had increased in the last year by 26 per cent with growth in online and in mobile “substantially exceeding the relatively small decline in print reach.”
Ashley Highfield, chief executive officer of Johnston Press, said: “The first half has been a period of tremendous activity and we have made significant progress. Johnston Press is going through a strategic transformation.
“As we continue to develop our digital portfolio, refresh our print offering, reduce costs, and use our substantial operating cash flow to bring down our debt, we are increasingly confident about the success of the strategy and the benefits that it will deliver.”
Dan Sabbagh of The Guardian, writing about JP’s results, cited the example of the Derbyshire Times. “The weekly has just been relaunched – the first redesign the title has had for 26 years – and the cover price has been increased 20% to 70p, according to chief executive Ashley Highfield. Assuming sales hold up, at least it's more revenue to a business that has traditionally been far too dependent on advertising.
“Look also at the Boston Standard, a small-town paper with a circulation of about 8,700. A motivated staff have helped lift sales slightly, and a commitment to local digital journalism have helped boost web audiences by 200%. And while the overalltotal of 25,000 monthly uniques is modest, when you have 250 newspapers across your group, the numbers can add up.”
Johnston Press also announced on Tuesday that it was to launch a fixed price recruitment service called TheSmartList designed to help employers fill vacancies quickly and cost-effectively.
The B2B focused website www.thesmartlist.co.uk will go live next month to support businesses and to communicate this new service.
