| CATEGORY: NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS SECTOR: MEDIA |
Johnston Press slumps as rival's property ad revenues slide |
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Wed 23 Apr 2008
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LONDON (SHARECAST) - Shares in regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press fell heavily today after rival newspaper group Gannett warned that a downturn in the UK property market was hitting advertising revenues.
The US owner of Newsquest, which publishes titles including the Glasgow-based title The Herald and the South Wales Argus, said that weakness in the UK property market was hurting revenues from house advert sales.
Shares in Johnston Press, which publishes The Herald’s rival The Scotsman and other regional titles including the Yorkshire Post, lost around 10% of their value. Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), which publishes The Daily Mail and various local papers, fell 5%.
Gannett reported weak first quarter trading at Newsquest. It said trading had declined further in March and that lower advertising revenue was spreading from property adverts to other areas.
Property classified fell 14% from first quarter of 2007, while job and auto adverts fell by 15% and 21% respectively.
Johnston Press, which holds its AGM on April 25, last month reported a 6% drop in full year profits and warned that the UK advertising market looks set to remain challenging.
“In the early weeks of 2008, print advertising revenues were down on the same period in 2007 and have been volatile week to week,” said chairman Roger Parry as he announced a 4.2% fall in advertising in the early weeks of 2008.
The previous month DMGT, whose local titles include the Essex Chronicle and the Nottingham Evening Post, posted a 2% rise in total revenues in the first quarter, but said it was too early to predict the outcome of the full year.
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