Tepid UK trading and incessant print declines sent underlying sales down 4 per cent at Johnston Press (JPR). However, in what has become a familiar pattern for publishers, digital growth and cost-cutting boosted the regional paper owner's operating profits by 3 per cent to £55.5m.
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The figures in our table partly reflect Johnston's rights issue and 50-to-one share consolidation last year. That raised about £361m, helping slash net debt by 39 per cent to £185m. Layoffs also meant its underlying operating costs fell by 6 per cent, but that was offset by £45m in one-off restructuring costs and write-downs.