Daily Mail and General Trust reported its half-year results for the six months to 31 March 2019.
The media group said that statutory pre-tax profits fell to £50 million from £113 million the year before. Meanwhile, revenue also dipped 3% to £724 million.
This was blamed on lower revenue streams from advertising and due to the effect of disposals made during the course of the last year. The company also cited an uncertain macro environment for the decline.
Nevertheless, investors were encouraged by the company’s outlook, with guidance for the year remaining in line with previous expectations.
Paul Zwillenberg, chief executive of Daily Mail and General Trust commented on the latest figures:
“DMGT delivered a good performance in the first half of the year, achieving underlying growth in revenue, cash generation and profit. Consumer Media delivered a particularly strong performance and we saw continued growth in our B2B portfolio.
The strategy we are pursuing is transforming DMGT and delivering results. The distribution of our stake in Euromoney and the GBP200m special dividend was a defining moment for DMGT. We returned nearly GBP900m, or 38% of our market capitalisation, to our shareholders. Our balance sheet remains strong despite this considerable capital return and an additional GBP117m made available to our pension schemes. We are confident we can invest for growth and maximise the portfolio’s true potential, continuing the transformation we started three years ago.
Consumer Media delivered a strong performance in the first half. Given the inherent lack of visibility of our advertising revenue streams, exacerbated by the uncertain macro environment, we remain cautious about the remainder of the year. Guidance for B2B remains unchanged with higher planned investment in the second half, notably in RMS. The Board remains confident that the Group’s strategy and strong balance sheet will, over the medium term, deliver consistent earnings growth to underpin DMGT’s long-standing commitment to sustainable annual real dividend growth.”
Daily Mail and General Trust own various media titles including the Daily Mail, The Metro and The Mail on Sunday.
Previously, the group also owned The Evening Standard, which was sold in 2009. DMGT still own a 25% share in the free newspaper.
Shares in the London-listed firm (LON:DGMT) are currently +10.07% as of 10:38AM (GMT).
