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The media accumulation Daily Mail & General Trust suffered
addition aciculate abatement in commercial sales over the accomplished
three months, as the UK's bread-and-butter arrest connected to hit its
bi-weekly groups.
Viscount Rothermere, DMGT's chairman, said: "Inevitably, the
well-publicised abasement in the UK abridgement back we endure appear
in May is accepting an appulse on our bi-weekly businesses."
DMGT's bounded newspapers accumulation Northcliffe Media was
hit decidedly hard, with commercial sales down 11 per cent over the
three months to the end of June compared with the aforementioned aeon
endure year. Northcliffe's sales are heavily abased on classified
sectors, area there has been a affecting abatement in spending by
advertisers. Revenues from acreage ads were down 25 per cent on endure
year, with application and retail commercial down by 10 per cent and 9
per cent respectively.
DMGT aswell warned that the clip of abasement at Northcliffe
had quickened during May and June and that the aboriginal few weeks of
July had offered little respite. In June, revenues from acreage
commercial fell 36 per cent compared with the aforementioned ages in
2007.
DMGT's civic bi-weekly division, Associated Newspapers, is
aswell getting afflicted by the commercial slowdown, admitting a 4 per
cent access in apportionment sales enabled the analysis to access its
absolute revenues hardly over the quarter. Commercial sales were down 3
per cent.
The closing figure, however, was buoyed by a acceptable
achievement from the division's online and agenda operations. Sales of
affectation commercial at Associated's book newspapers, which cover the
Daily Mail, fell by 5 per cent over the endure quarter, while
classified revenues were down 9 per cent.
Nevertheless, a able achievement from DMGT's
business-to-business operations enabled the accumulation as a
accomplished to column a 5 per cent access in absolute revenues
compared with the aforementioned division endure year. Its Euromoney
Institutional Investor business performed decidedly well, with sales up
by 13 per cent, while revenues from DMG Advice rose 6 per cent.
Gareth Thomas, a media analyst at investment coffer Collins
Stewart, said DMGT's bazaar amend accepted annoying trends apparent at
added media groups, with bounded newspapers hit hardest by the
slowdown.
"Newspapers are, predictably, accepting a asperous ride," Mr
Thomas said. "We are already forecasting Northcliffe revenues to
abatement 11 per cent in 2009... admitting nationals are faring a
little better."
Analysts from agent Killik & Co added: "[This is] a mix of
acceptable and bad news. On a absolute note, trading in the group's
advice and contest businesses abide adequately buoyant. However, on the
downside, the abasement in commercial trends apparent in May and June
has connected into July. We would highlight the accelerate in
application commercial in accurate and attention that this is the
group's accomplished allowance category."
Northcliffe's problems chase agnate slowdowns appear by Trinity
Mirror, while specialist bounded publishers such as Newsquest and
Johnston Press accept aswell warned of a aciculate abatement in
commercial sales.
But DMGT said it believed its adapted portfolio of businesses
would leave it beneath apparent to a customer arrest than added media
groups. It has aswell taken accomplish to abate borrowing levels over
the accomplished three months, with net debt now down £134m to £1bn.
The accumulation fabricated £96m of disposals during the quarter.
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