Trinity Mirror restores dividend despite pressures

PUBLISHER Trinity Mirror is to pay its first final dividend since 2008, after annual profits rose despite sliding print revenues weighed down by lower advertising spending by supermarkets.

The group's newspaper titles include the Daily Record. Picture: TSPL

The group, whose titles include the Daily Record and Sunday Mail as well as the Mirror newspapers, plans to pay investors 3p per share in June, after cost savings and digital growth helped it to notch up higher profits.

It also said it had “increased financial flexibility” for investments, saying its plans included “launching, developing, investing in or acquiring new businesses built around distinctive content or audience”.

The company’s adjusted pre-tax profits for 2014 climbed 1 per cent to £102.3 million on group revenues which were 4.1 per cent lower at £636.3m.

Chief executive Simon Fox said the group’s print division “remained challenging” but that there had been a “continued focus on efficiency and cost management”.

This had “resulted in another year of profit growth and strong cash flow which has enabled us to significantly reduce net debt and propose a final dividend for 2014, the first since 2008”.

Performance for 2015 was set to be in line with expectations, he added.

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