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Reach reveals group revenue decline despite 35pc growth in digital earnings

Jim Mullen 1Reach plc has revealed a decline in overall revenue despite a 35pc increase in digital earnings.

The publisher has hailed a “positive start to the year” after overseeing the year-on-year increase in digital revenue for the four-month period to 25 April this year – compared with the 2020 period during which the first coronavirus lockdown came into force.

However, the rise was unable to offset a 10.4pc decline in print revenue and 7.9pc drop in circulation revenue for the same period, meaning group revenue was down 3.1pc on the same period last year.

The year-on-year comparisons for April only were more encouraging for the publisher with revenue increases across the board – 78.4pc in digital, 9.1pc in print and 5.3pc in circulation – accounting for a group revenue increase of 19.7pc when put up against last April’s figures.

In a trading update issued this morning, the company said the year-on-year changes in digital and print “reflect softer comparatives during the latter part of the period as we annualised the first Covid-19 lockdown”.

Jim Mullen, pictured, Reach plc chief executive, said: “We have had a positive start to the year and are seeing the benefits of last year’s transformation programme.

“With digital now accounting for more of our advertising revenues than print and growing strongly, we are well placed to make further progress during 2021.

“We have a strong balance sheet and are now increasing investment to accelerate delivery of the customer value strategy, focusing on the use of enhanced customer insight to drive engagement and support our medium-term objective of doubling digital revenues.”

Reach also register 400,000 more users online during April, with the total number of registrations now standing at 6.2m.