Johnston remains cautious over outlook

The Edinburgh-based group said it would continue to cut costs by streamlining processes and consolidating back-office functions as the UK economic outlook remained grim and the Government, a major source of advertising revenue, slashed spending.

John Fry, the outgoing chief executive, said Johnston had not seen a dramatic change for the worse because it publishes few titles in the relatively affluent South East, where the shock of falling stock markets has been most keenly felt.

“That doesn’t affect the average person in Hartlepool,” he said.

“It’s clear that the regional economies are not buoyant. They haven’t been buoyant for some time,” he said. “It’s gone from tough to tough.”

Johnston publishes 255 daily and weekly newspapers in the UK, including titles such as The Scotsman.

It said print advertising revenue decline slowed to 8.1 per cent in the first seven weeks of the second half, while digital revenue continued to grow and circulation remained resilient.

Total first-half revenue fell 7.5 per cent to £192m, while operating profit before non-recurring items fell 17.6 per cent to £33m.

The company said its full-year results would be broadly in line with current expectations.

Johnston also announced a deal with property website Zoopla, which will power a new classified property platform for all local websites.

Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla.co.uk, said: “We are very excited to be embarking on this strategic relationship.

“The addition of our property functionality across their significant network of local websites is a natural fit which will provide clear benefits to the Johnston audience and to our members.”

Johnston announced another digital partnership, this time with Nimble Commerce, which will help it launch an online vouchers business in the autumn.

Britons are increasingly taking advantage of money-off vouchers, special deals and freebies in the face of the continued economic difficulties, research by the Halifax revealed earlier this month.

New chief executive, Ashley Highfield, starts on November 1. Previous roles include director of new media and technology at the BBC, where he was responsible for the launch of the BBC’s iPlayer.

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