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Trinity Mirror profits slip due to print ad slump and phone-hacking costs Trinity Mirror profits slip due to print ad slump and phone-hacking costs
(2 days later)
Profits at Trinity Mirror fell to £12.1m during the first six months of 2015 as it faced a print advertising slump and the costs of covering payments to victims of phone hacking.Profits at Trinity Mirror fell to £12.1m during the first six months of 2015 as it faced a print advertising slump and the costs of covering payments to victims of phone hacking.
Excluding the impact of the phone-hacking costs, which Trinity has put aside an additional £16m to cover, and a £27m boost in 2014 from the sale by PA of weather information business MeteoGroup, underlying profits for the period were down 2.5% to £47m.Excluding the impact of the phone-hacking costs, which Trinity has put aside an additional £16m to cover, and a £27m boost in 2014 from the sale by PA of weather information business MeteoGroup, underlying profits for the period were down 2.5% to £47m.
The fall in profits came despite cost cutting and digital growth, which failed to offset continuing declines in print advertising. Revenues were £288.5m, down 8.7% from the same period of 2014 as print advertising, particularly from supermarkets, fell 19% to £87.7. Digital advertising rose almost 26% to £16.6. The fall in profits came despite cost cutting and digital growth, which failed to offset continuing declines in print advertising. Revenues were £288.5m, down 8.7% from the same period of 2014 as print advertising, particularly from supermarkets, fell 19% to £87.7m. Digital advertising rose almost 26% to £16.6m.
Trinity Mirror chief executive Simon Fox said the company was still focussed on reaching the point at which digital growth would offset the decline of print. Trinity Mirror’s chief executive, Simon Fox, said the company was still focused on reaching the point at which digital growth would offset the decline of print.
“That tipping point is what we are focused on,” he said. “With print advertising declining faster than we had expected, that tipping point is pushed out a bit.”“That tipping point is what we are focused on,” he said. “With print advertising declining faster than we had expected, that tipping point is pushed out a bit.”
The company has so far set aside £28m to cover phone-hacking claims and is appealing against the scale of the payments set in May when the judge hearing the civil claims against the company, Mr Justice Mann, awarded a total of £1.2m to eight victims including Sadie Frost and Paul Gascoigne.The company has so far set aside £28m to cover phone-hacking claims and is appealing against the scale of the payments set in May when the judge hearing the civil claims against the company, Mr Justice Mann, awarded a total of £1.2m to eight victims including Sadie Frost and Paul Gascoigne.
“These are the costs we have to set aside for this extremely unfortunate episode in our past,” said Fox. “It’s not an existential threat to Trinity Mirror’s health but we have lots of obligations to our pensioners, to our employees, to our future growth strategy. Fox said: “These are the costs we have to set aside for this extremely unfortunate episode in our past. It’s not an existential threat to Trinity Mirror’s health but we have lots of obligations to our pensioners, to our employees, to our future growth strategy.
“We want to make the right payments to the civil claimants but we think Justice Mann got it wrong and that’s why we are appealing. We hope that process will occur as quickly as possible.”“We want to make the right payments to the civil claimants but we think Justice Mann got it wrong and that’s why we are appealing. We hope that process will occur as quickly as possible.”
In June, Trinity Mirror announced it was doubling its cost-cutting target for the year from £10m to £20m and the company also recently shuttered its standalone UsVsTh3m and Ampp3d brands. Fox said the sites had provided valuable lessons for the rest of the business, but had been unable to generate advertising revenue.In June, Trinity Mirror announced it was doubling its cost-cutting target for the year from £10m to £20m and the company also recently shuttered its standalone UsVsTh3m and Ampp3d brands. Fox said the sites had provided valuable lessons for the rest of the business, but had been unable to generate advertising revenue.