Aberdeen Journals hit by advertising slump

ABERDEEN Journals, publisher of the Press & Journal newspaper, saw profits more than halve as the recession battered advertising in its latest financial year.

Pre-tax profits in the year to 31 March dropped to 2.3 million from 5.9m on turnover down to 32.6m from 38m and margins more than halved to 7.2 per cent from 15.6 per cent.

Total advertising revenues for the year at the group, which also produces the Aberdeen Evening Express and is part of the DC Thomson empire, were down 23 per cent on the previous year with recruitment advertising falling by 49 per cent.

Non-recruitment advertising was down by 8 per cent although retail advertising rose 3 per cent partly due to the opening of a shopping centre during the year. Circulation revenues held up, with a fall of just 1 per cent, partly thanks to price increases.

In its annual accounts, the company said there had been signs of improvement since April with advertising revenues in the first six months of the new financial year 6 per cent higher than last year although the public sector cuts had already had some impact on recruitment advertising and public notices.

In the directors' report, the firm also spoke of the "major threat" posed by the BBC to the efforts of media companies to attract new revenues from the internet. The average number of staff employed by the group dipped to 518 from 522 but the highest paid director saw their pay package rise to 314,000 from 216,000.