Johnston Press, the publisher of the i, Scotsman and Yorkshire Post, has reported a £300 million pre-tax loss for 2016.
The results come following a tough period which has seen advertising revenues decline significantly and a write-down in the value of its newspaper titles.
Over the year, total revenue declined by -8% to £222.7 million, while total advertising revenue was down -17.7% to £122.6 million.
Johnston Press, which bought the i newspaper for £24 million last April, said it had also recorded an impairment charge of £344 million on its 200-plus regional titles (not including the i).
Chief executive Ashley Highfield said last year’s EU Referendum was largely to blame for the decline in ad revenue.
“Despite an industry wide backdrop of significant downward pressure on revenues, the actions we have taken to pilot the business through this rapidly-changing market and create the conditions from which to create growth are starting to bear fruit,” Highfield said.
“Circulation figures of key titles are improving, the i has bucked the trend of declining national newspaper sales and our progressive editorial and sales models are starting to transform our regional businesses.
“While we can expect to see continued pressure on traditional print revenue streams, we have seen digital return to growth in Q1 2017, with better margin products, and will see growth from our investment in the i from both the newspaper and website. Further, we will start to see the benefits of our restructured sales teams and product roll out.”
At the beginning of the year, Johnston Press’s interim chairman called in financial experts to try and help the business out of mounting debts.
Camilla Rhodes – an ex-senior executive of Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspaper business – asked financial advisory group Rothschild to look at refinancing options for the struggling publisher, which currently owes £220 million in bonds that are due to mature in 2019.
In the same month, Johnston Press completed the sale of 13 of its East Anglia and East Midlands titles to Iliffe Media for £17 million.
At the time, Highfield said the disposal would help to put Johnston Press, which has a current market capital of less than £20 million, on “a stronger footing” and reduce net debt.
Johnston Press’ shares were down by almost -14.8% this morning (29 March).
