Warning Bells Ringing At Trinity

After a bad day in the stock market yesterday, Trinity Mirror shares plunged down 18% in one day, taking the shares down to just 55.5p.

According to reports on Brand Republic, the publishing company has lost 90% from its share price during the last year. Shares in July last year were up to ten times higher at 557p.

The company announced in April that it would close eight loss-making regional newspapers in Derby and Peterborough. The closure of the Derby Trader and the Peterborough Herald and Post made a reported 23 people redundant, including eight editorial staff.

In a recent trading update Trinity Mirror announced that advertising conditions had worsened over the previous six months, due to “the uncertain outlook for the UK economy with the ongoing adverse implications of inflationary cost pressures and the wider implications of the credit crunch.”

It continued: “We have seen a marked year on year decline in advertising revenues across our businesses during May and June and this is expected to continue for the remainder of the year.”

However, digital revenues are playing a greater part in its financial position and it recently announced that they now represent 7% of its regional revenues and 10% of profits (see Trinity Mirror Expands Hyper Local Offering).

Trinity Mirror: 020 7293 3000www.trinitymirror.com