A regional publisher has blamed the war in Ukraine after revealing a hit to advertising revenues.

Reach plc says it has experienced reduced advertiser demand due to stories published about the war “significantly” reducing the level of content deemed ‘brand safe’.

Reach revealed ad revenue has decreased by 10.1pc year-on-year in a trading update for the four-month period from 27 December 2021 to 24 April this year.

Print revenue was also down by 4.2pc and circulation revenue by 5.7pc, although digital revenue increased by 9.3pc and printing and other revenue by 21.6pc.

In the update, Reach said: “Over the past two months the market has experienced reduced advertiser demand and lower average yields, with the war in Ukraine significantly reducing the level of ‘brand safe’ content for news publishers.

“While this has led to lower growth than expected, we are improving the quality of our digital sales.”

It added: “We’re continuing to invest in the Customer Value Strategy, with the reshaping of our cost base supporting investment in data and technology.

“However, since the middle of March, we have seen further inflation in operating costs, particularly within print, where the impact of newsprint (paper cost) increases will now exceed our previous expectations.

“We have taken additional measures to help offset this including, the acceleration of efficiency plans, changes within print production and actions around print cover prices.

“We still anticipate broadly flat group revenue for the year, though with a higher mix of circulation revenues and lower digital contribution than previously expected as a result of more challenging trading conditions.

“The impact of further recent newsprint inflation is fully reflected in our cost expectations for the current financial year, with actions now underway to help mitigate the impact on operating profit.”

The update was issued this morning ahead of the group’s annual general meeting.

Reach chief executive officer Jim Mullen, pictured, said: “We’re developing a more sustainable and profitable long-term future for the business, with delivery of the strategy progressing well, despite a more challenging economic backdrop.

“The effective collection and use of data are supporting the growth of our higher yielding digital products, which are becoming an increasing part of our revenue mix.

“We’ve taken swift action to address the impact of inflation on our cost base and the business remains strongly cash generative, supporting the investment in data and technology that is key to future growth.”