Johnston eyes digital recovery

The company, which owns nearly 250 titles including The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post, said sales fell by 14.7 per cent in the six weeks since the start of July after London 2012 hit advertising not directly related to the event.

Half-year figures revealed total ad revenues fell by 8.2 per cent in the six months to June 30, while underlying interim pre-tax profits nearly halved to £8.1m from £15.7m a year earlier.

But Johnston said an overhaul to “put digital at the heart” of the business would begin delivering results in the second half and throughout 2013 as title relaunches, cover price hikes and new websites boost performance.

Chief executive Ashley Highfield hailed a period of “tremendous activity” in the first six months.

Since the revamp was unveiled in April, the group has already relaunched 23 titles as integrated digital and print products with aims to increase the group’s web audience to match its newspaper circulation.

Johnston also converted five daily titles to weekly publications. This impacted newspaper sales revenues, which were down 3.1 per cent in the first half, but digital revenues rose 8.4 per cent in the half-year, with a “dramatic” increase in mobile audiences.

But Johnston shares fell 6 per cent while analysts remained concerned about the group’s outlook as underlying profits continue to come under pressure.