DMGT, the publisher of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and the Metro free title, today (26 July) updated the City on its third-quarter financial performance.
Across the group, which includes business-to-business operations such as its events business and Risk Management Solutions, national and regional newspapers, revenues were £495m, up 2% on the previous year.
Associated Newspapers, its national newspaper division, reported a revenue dip of 5% on the year, as the advertising revenues showed little sign of improvement against a backdrop of high-street doom and gloom.
Advertising revenues across the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, and Metro were down 10% on the year, with print down 12% and digital up 51%.
Retail advertising, the largest category, declined 15% while travel and finance each fell by 9%. its cover price from 50p to 55p to offset the decline.
Mail Online, the second-most-viewed website globally, reported a revenue lift of 59%.
Executives will be hoping for further financial reward as the group makes a concerted push into the US market and bids to overtake The New York Times as the most-viewed news site globally.
In June, Mail Online attracted around 70 million unique users, more than 60% higher than the previous year.
Executives believe that the summer months could witness an improvement in ad revenues compared to this quarter.
The company said: "While the outlook remains uncertain and, as usual, visibility on future newspaper advertising performance is very limited, the July to September comparatives are less demanding for Associated and there are early signs of improvements in July trading."
At Northcliffe – DMGT's regional unit that publishes the Hull Daily Mail – revenues were down 10% to £59m, as circulation and advertising revenues fell.
Across its regional and national newspaper units, the group has axed around 560 jobs, primarily at Northcliffe and its printing unit, since the start of the year.
Northcliffe has agreed to sell seven weekly titles in the Kent area.
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