UK local newspaper groups reported good news on their share prices on Friday, as Trinity Mirror and Johnston Press enjoyed strong rises on the back of encouraging forecasts and fresh disposals respectively.
Trinity Mirror stock rose as much as 8 per cent, after the publisher of the Daily Mirror and more than 200 local and regional papers said that it expected its full-year performance to be "marginally ahead of expectations", with net debt falling to around £35 million (€41.7m) .
Johnston Press shares were up as much as 18 per cent as it reported it had struck a deal to sell 13 titles in East Anglia and the East Midlands to Iliffe Media for £17 million.
Investors welcomed Trinity’s guidance, even as the publisher warned of a further fall in print advertising revenues in the fourth quarter and a rise in legal costs relating to the phone hacking scandal.
It said overall group revenue would fall by “below” 8 per cent in the fourth quarter, slightly better than the 9 per cent decline reported in the third quarter and an 8 per cent drop in the first half.
– Financial Times Service
