Shares in Johnston Press edged higher yesterday as the publishing group revealed a £6.3 million half-year loss.
The firm which is registered in Edinburgh and which owns The Scotsman and dozens of small Scottish regional titles also saw revenues in the 26 weeks to Jun 28 fall by more than £17m to £135.8m when compared with a year earlier.
However, on an underlying basis, which strips out exceptional items and financial adjustments, the firm reported a pre-tax profit of £6.1m, a £4m increase on the previous year.
Group chief executive Ashley Highfield said the group had made progress in the first half of 2014 and was now on a “much more stable” financial footing than it had been.
“Johnston Press has delivered a solid first-half performance,” Mr Highfield said.
“The results reflect our ongoing progress against our strategic priorities as well as an improving economic climate, and demonstrate our continuing relevance to the communities we serve across print and digital.
“We are growing strongly in a number of categories and reducing the decline in the rest, whilst continuing to bring down our cost based.
“As a result we are growing operating profits and margins.”
Group net debt was significantly reduced in the period from £302m at the end of December last year to £181.6m.
The reduction was achieved as a result of a major capital refinancing plan which saw the group raise £225m through a bond issue and a further £140m through a placing and rights issue.
Total exceptional items for the period which include £2.31m of restructuring costs following last year’s major overhaul of the business came in at £2.91m, down from the £10.96m booked in the same period a year earlier.
In the whole of 2013, the group spent £44.3m on the reshaping exercise.
The company said its total monthly audience across its print and digital platforms had grown by 14.3% year-on-year to 25.6m.
However, total first-half advertising revenues were down 4.6% year-on-year, despite the 2013 comparison being weak on the back of an 8.1 fall in that period.
Mr Highfield yesterday said momentum was gathering within the group and it was “confident in continuing to deliver” on its stated operational strategy.
Shares in the company closed up 0.02p at 4.22p following yesterday’s trading session.