First half pre-tax profits at Johnston Press jumped by 25.2% to £50.6 million, boosted by the acquisition of Regional Independent Media (RIM) in March this year (see Johnston Press Acquires RIM Newspaper Business).
Operating profit at Johnston rose by 28.6% to £62.1 million; excluding the RIM business, operating profit was up by 7.4%. Overall operating margins were up 2.0% points to 33%.
The company had “modest advertising revenue growth in Scotland, good increases in the North of England, but declines in the South, reflecting reduced volumes of recruitment advertising.” A similar trend is emerging for the coming month.
Tim Bowdler, chief executive of Johnston, says that the markets remain uncertain. However, the integration of RIM is going well and he expects the company to make progress in the second half.
Shares in Johnston were up 2p at 345p by mid-morning.