Daily Mail and General Trust (LON:DMGT) released a trading update of Thursday outlining its first-quarter results. Its 2019 outlook remains unchanged and in line with market expectations.
Group revenue increased by 2% on an underlying bias. Reported revenue, however, declined 2% compared to the year prior.
Net cash at 31 December 2018 was reported as £203 million. This compares to £233 million as of 30 September 2018, reflecting seasonal cash flows. In December, £219 million of its bond debt matured and as of the 31 December, the remaining bond debt was £207 million.
The company’s consumer media division saw an underlying revenue growth of 1%, as well as a reported revenue growth of 3%, matching its expectations.
In the trading update, Daily Mail and General Trust said:
“Circulation revenue declined 3%, with volume reductions partly offset by the cover price increase of the weekday editions of the Daily Mail from 65p to 70p in September 2018. Underlying advertising revenue growth of 4% was achieved across dmg media; a 1% decline in print was more than offset by 10% growth from digital. The Mail Newspapers titles grew their market shares and we remain confident in the future growth opportunities at MailOnline, driven by increasing engagement with the direct audience.”
Digital advertising grey 10%, counterbalancing the 1% decline in print advertising as more consumers opt for digital copies.
For its Insurance Risk division, underlying revenue grew 1%. Modest growth in subscriptions was partially offset by an unexpected decrease from one-off projects.
Property and Information also saw a 1% underlying revenue growth. According to the company, this reflects continued growth from the US businesses.
EdTech saw its underlying revenue jump 13%, driven by the strong performances of Naviance, Intersect and Starfish.
Energy Information underlying revenue increased by 1%. This was driven by continued growth from its oil and natural gas businesses. However, this was impacted by the weaker revenues from its power businesses.
Daily Mail and General Trust has business-to-business and consumer media operations.
At 08:48 GMT today, shares in Daily Mail and General Trust plc (LON:DMGT) were trading at +1.21%.