In This Bulletin

NEWS

Explore Brand Republic

Profits at DMGT up 11% to hit a record £288m

by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 21-Nov-07, 09:10

LONDON - Daily Mail & General Trust has announced an 11% year-on-year rise in pre-tax profits to a record £288m, aided by a strong B2B division.

The publisher attributed its performance in part to strong growth in its business-to-business operations, which include DMGI Information and Risk Management Solutions.

Operating profit before exceptionals and amortisation climbed to £322m for the year ended September 30 from £300m, while group revenue for the period was £2.24bn compared with £2.18bn for the prior year.

The group said its total advertising revenues increased by 8%. Print ad revenues at its newspapers, including the Daily Mail and morning freesheet Metro, rose by 3% to £447m.

Total display advertising was up by 6% to £350m, with all sectors up, except motors and financial.

Retail, the group's largest category, experienced growth of 18%, but classified advertising revenues, which have been hit hard by the internet across the newspaper industry, fell by 7% to £97m.

The group's digital division, Associated Northcliffe Digital, reported revenue growth of 46% to £86m across dedicated portals for jobs, property and motors.

Teletext made an operating loss of £4m on revenues down by 20% to £41m. The group hopes to reverse the decline with the rollout of Teletext Extra, a new service for the Freeview platform.

Lord Rothermere, chairman of DMGT, said the record results were the result of the group's focus on generating new revenue streams outside of the group's main UK newspapers from businesses such as DMGI.

"Over the past decade, our strategy has been to sustain and invest in our core UK newspaper businesses and to use the surplus cash flow and leverage of the group to acquire or develop high-growth media businesses unaffected by the UK's advertising market and regulatory regimes.

"As a result of this strategy, over 50% of our operating profits are now derived other than from newspaper publishing."

DMGT also confirmed the appointment of Martin Morgan as chief executive, following the retirement of Charles Sinclair.

Morgan, currently managing director of DMGI, will step up to his new role in mid-2008.

Rothermere said: "He has done an outstanding job over the last 10 years in growing DMGI and is very well suited to take on the task of overseeing the whole DMGT Group.

"His broad knowledge of business media, as well as his prior experience of consumer media, will serve him well."