Archant’s operating profits for 2006 fell 6.8% to £29.5 million, although the group said that it had performed robustly in challenging conditions for the media industry.
Continued progress in magazines and contract publishing saw profits in those businesses, including acquisitions, up 23.7% at £6.1 million, up from £5 million in 2005.
In a statement to shareholders, Archant chairman Richard Jewson said: “The company had produced a robust performance in challenging conditions. Whilst advertising revenues were still down on 2005, performance in the second half improved as the rate of decline in advertising revenue slowed.
“Structural change in the regional press industry continues. Media fragmentation is also continuing within the industry, and we have sought to benefit from this by building on the audiences loyal to our titles by increasing our online presence. The results of this continuing programme of investment are encouraging – we are growing revenue and unique visitors to our sites have risen by 66% over the year, with nearly 1.2 million unique visitors in January 2007.
“We expect conditions to remain challenging in 2007, with advertising demand likely to remain flat and costs, including salaries and newsprint, continuing to rise. We remain confident in the strength of our titles and the skills and commitment of our staff and we are determined to restore the Group’s record of growth as conditions improve.”
In January, Johnston Press acquired Archant’s Scottish Newspaper operations for £11.2 million (see Johnston Press Acquires Archant Scottish Titles).
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