Revenue rise giving Yell something to shout about

YELLOW Pages directories owner Yell saw a stock market surge yesterday after the firm saw better-than-expected revenues and signs of returning confidence.

Underlying revenues were down 13.3 per cent to 1.52 billion in the nine months to 31 December, although this was a smaller decline than analysts feared.

Its shares have been battered in the last two years amid worries over its huge borrowings, but jumped almost 7 per cent yesterday despite the wider market sell-off after chief executive John Condron spotted "early signs the rate of revenue decline is stabilising".

The company secured a refinancing of its 3.8bn debt mountain last November, with borrowings now standing at 3bn – 1.2bn less than at the end of March. Underlying earnings for the period were down 8 per cent at 476.5 million, but still beat City forecasts.

In the UK – where revenues fell 12 per cent – retention rates among print customers were broadly level with last year, although Yell is concentrating on core Yellow Pages advertisers rather than newer customers, where loyalty rates are lower.

Yell's internet arm continues to grow, representing 30 per cent of UK revenues, compared with 24 per cent at this stage last year.

The business also has major exposure to the US and Spanish economies but said revenue declines also slowed in these hard-hit regions.