News group Reach plc has revealed 2019 brought “solid financial progress” with particular success in increasing its websites’ page views.
The firm, whose headquarters is in London but which has numerous titles across the country, said its digital performance was strengthened with page views growing 25% to 1.3bn for the year.
In terms of finances, revenue for 2019 was £702.5m down from £723.9m in 2018 for the company owning nationals such as the Daily Mirror, Express, Star and regionals such as the Liverpool Echo, Manchester Evening News and WalesOnline.
That meant revenue falling by 5.3% - easing from a 6.6% fall in 2018, which Reach said was down to “resilient circulation revenue and stronger digital growth”.
As well as the significant jump in page views, strong performance in digital saw 13.2% growth.
Adjusted profit before tax increased by 6.1% to £150.6m.
The year included the launch of the BusinessLive website - a new national digital brand focussed on news and businesses from across the regions.
JiM Mullen, CEO, said in a statement: “I was delighted to join Reach in August 2019 and have been impressed by the relentless focus on producing award-winning journalism and content that shapes national and regional conversations.
"These are strong foundations on which to invest and innovate to ensure a sustainable future for our trusted brands.
“2019 was a year of good operational and solid financial progress with record growth in audience numbers, consistently good cash generation and a strong balance sheet.
"This, along with unparalleled scale, underpins our drive to build an intelligent, relevant and trusted content business for the long term whilst continuing to deliver for our stakeholders."
The financial statement released on Monday added that the board was “confident” further good progress will be made throughout the year.
It also revealed the launch of a new customer value strategy, with "content at its heart".
That includes plans to increase registered online users sevenfold by the end of 2022.
Mr Mullen added: “We have an unmatched reach in UK media and will deepen our relationships via increased customer engagement. Through this, we see significant potential to accelerate the diversification of our digital revenue and capture more value to deliver on our sustainable digital growth ambitions.”
