Daily Mail maintains guidance as digital revenues help offset print decline

The Daily Mail’s parent company today said it maintains its full-year guidance as revenue rises for its online and TV offerings offset a decline in print sales.

Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) said reported revenue growth slipped two per cent in the three months to the end of December, impacted by disposals in its business-to-business division. Revenue rose two per cent on an underlying basis.

Trading for the Mail’s newspaper titles continues to reflect the challenging environment for print media, with circulation revenue falling three per cent. This was partly offset by a 5p increase in the Daily Mail weekday cover price to 70p.

But an 11 per cent boost in advertising revenues for Mail Online helped bolster the unsteady print performance and counteract one-off costs.

Network licensing revenues from the group’s US series, Daily Mail TV, helped bring Mail Online’s total revenue growth to 14 per cent, the firm said.

Shares in DMGT were up almost two per cent following the update.

Chief executive Paul Zwillenberg said: “Our strategy is gaining traction and we delivered a robust performance across our more focused portfolio in the first quarter with underlying revenue growth across the breadth of our B2B and consumer media businesses.”

“DMGT remains in a net cash position which provides us with significant financial flexibility as we continue to execute against our strategy,” he added.

The media company said its outlook for the full year remains unchanged and is in line with market expectations.

In November the company reported a fall in pre-tax profits, adding its online advertising revenue had overtaken its revenue from print advertising for the first time.

The update came as digital publishers Buzzfeed and Verizon, which owns Yahoo and Huffpost, announced plans to lay off staff in a bid to cut costs.