12 May 2010 07:00
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | 12 May 2010 |
INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
Johnston Press plc today publishes its Interim Management Statement which has been drawn up for the 18 weeks to 8 May 2010, being the last practicable date, as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
Total advertising revenues for the 18 weeks to 8 May 2010 were down 7.1% on a like‑for‑like basis.* Within this overall advertising performance we have seen digital revenues over the 18 weeks increase by 12.3%. Advertising over the first Quarter was fairly stable. However, performance in April was a little more subdued, primarily due to the General Election. We would expect the Election's impact to continue through the second Quarter and therefore not see any significant improvements in the current trend until Q3 2010.
Management of costs and cash continue to be key areas of focus for the Group and we expect to make total year‑on‑year cost savings in 2010 of at least £15 million, an increase from the previously advised £10 million. Net debt at the end of April 2010 was £419.1 million, a reduction of £3.0 million from the start of the year.
Despite the slightly softer advertising performance anticipated in the second quarter, we expect our continued management of costs to produce full year results in line with current market expectations.
*As a result of a 53rd week being taken into 2009, the comparison is between weeks 1 to 18 of 2010 against weeks 2 to 19 of 2009 and excludes the Tallaght Echo, disposed of at the end of 2009, from the comparative.
For further information please contact:
| John Fry, Chief Executive Officer or Stuart Paterson, Chief Financial Officer | 020 7466 5000 (today) or 0131 225 3361 (thereafter) |
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| Richard Oldworth/Suzanne Brocks/Christian Goodbody Buchanan Communications | 020 7466 5000 |
The Interim Management Statement may contain forward looking statements, which have been made by the Directors in good faith based on the information available to them at the time of their approval of the Statement, and should be treated with caution due to inherent uncertainties, which are beyond Johnston Press' ability to control or estimate precisely and include both economic and business risk factors, underlying such forward looking information.