Telegraph Profits Down 29%

The Telegraph has today released results for the 6 months ending 30 June 1995; pre-tax profits are down by 29% to £21.5m. Group turnover is also reduced, by £14.9m to £121.4m.

The chairman’s statement confirmed that the first six months of 1995 have been the fiercest period of competition in the past 10 years. As well as a reduced cover price, the company has also invested heavily in coupon-based weekend price promotions; the investment in these promotions will decrease significantly in the second half of 1995.

Ad revenues in this half year performed well, rising by £5m over 1994 to offset some of the loss of circulation income; classified advertising was particularly strong, increasing by 27% compared to last year. Display ad sales with the exception of financial advertising were also up on last year. The Telegraph warned that newsprint prices are expected to rise a further 30% in the second half of the year; to mitigate this the Telegraph “will continue to operate a tight pagination policy.” Telegraph shares were down 20p this morning to 393p.