Johnston Press revenue slumps 10% in first half of year

Publisher Johnston Press saw revenue fall by 10% in the first half of 2018.

Digital advertising was hit after changes to Google's online search algorithm and Facebook's news feed.

The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post publisher said overall revenue slid to £93m ($118.6m) in the six months to July, from £103.3m a year before.

But the firm reported a pre-tax profit of £6.2m compared with a loss of £10.2m a year earlier, benefiting from strong sales at the "i" national paper.

Johnston Press shares fell as much as 21% after the results and were down by 15% in late morning trade.

The group, which owns about 200 titles across the UK, said underlying advertising revenues fell by 15% while classified ad sales plunged 28.5% year-on-year.

Digital advertising revenues, which have previously helped offset a decline in traditional advertising sales, were down by 7.4%.

David King, the newly-appointed chief executive of Johnston, said: "The continued challenges posed by Google and Facebook, seen most recently through algorithm and news feed changes, have contributed to total digital revenue decline, while balance sheet constraints have restricted the group's ability to invest and counter these effects.

"As part of the strategic review, the group continues to explore its options for the refinancing or restructuring of the group's debt but, as yet, no decisions have been made nor agreements reached," he added.

The "i" newspaper, which was bought in 2016, increased its circulation revenues by 17% and ad sales by 20%.

Mr King said the results for the i "demonstrated that it is possible to grow a newspaper brand, despite the prevailing headwinds".