FT Ad Revenue Drops 18% In Twelve Months, Says Pearson
Pearson, the international media company which owns the Financial Times, today said that the increased economic uncertainty caused by the war in Iraq has had an impact on current trading, especially at its business newspapers, where advertising revenues have fallen significantly in recent weeks.
The company’s FT Group, which accounts for 17% of revenues, has seen advertising spend ‘deteriorate significantly’ in the last month. Ad revenues at the Financial Times newspaper are down 18% in the year to date and the outlook remains uncertain, Pearson’s AGM was told today.
“If advertising continues at the levels we’ve seen in the year to date, FT Group profits would be lower than current market expectations but still ahead of last year,” it said.
Pearson’s other businesses are performing in line with expectations and outperforming in their respective markets.
Shares in the group were down by 2.6% at 539.3p by early afternoon.
