Trinity Mirror shares boosted as advertising slump starts to slow
SHARES in newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror lifted yesterday after it beat market expectations for first-half earnings thanks to a slower rate of decline in advertising sales and strict cost management.
The group said that advertising revenues fell 23 per cent in July, after a 28 per cent decline between January and June, and the company said it expected the improvement to continue for the rest of the year.
National advertising at Trinity Mirror, home to the national Daily and Sunday Mirror and a stable of local newspapers, fell 14.4 per cent in the first half, slowing to 10 per cent in July. Regional ads fell 29 per cent in July, down from 34.5 per cent.
Total first-half sales fell 17 per cent to £383m, while pre-tax profit fell 56 per cent to £31.3m.