Newspapers group Johnston Press PLC (LON:JPR), the publisher of the Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post said trading has improved after a difficult summer prompted by Brexit-related uncertainty, although revenues still fell.
The 250-year-old company posted a 6% fall in total revenues for the 52 weeks to December 31, impacted by higher costs from imported paper and ink due to weakness in the pound after June’s Brexit vote.
The group said its total print and digital advertising revenues, excluding classifieds, for the full year were down 7%.
Ashley Highfield, Johnson Press’s chief executive officer, said: "Despite the challenging print market, including a very difficult summer prompted by Brexit-related uncertainties, we have seen some improvement in our markets during the fourth quarter.
“Whilst we expect the overall market environment to remain challenging for both the group and the industry as a whole, we remain focused on delivering on our strategic priorities of growing our overall audience, driving the further success of the i newspaper, delivering a more efficient editorial and sales operation and strengthening the balance sheet.”
In early trading, Johnson Press shares were up 1.6%, or 0.25p at 16.00p.