Big media are still coining it
There is still plenty of money to be made in the local and regional press. For all the big groups’ whining about declining revenue, last year they were still coining big profits — proportionately up to six times as much as Tesco’s, for instance.
TRINITY MIRROR |
2008 |
2007 |
| Turnover |
871,700 |
971,300 |
| Operating profit |
145,200 |
196,000 |
| Operating profit margin % |
16.66 |
20.18 |
| Dividends paid |
48,400 |
63,700 |
| Trinity Mirror figures include the national titles in the Mirror group |
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JOHNSTON PRESS |
2008 |
2007 |
| Turnover |
531,899 |
607,504 |
| Operating profit |
128,414 |
178,142 |
| Operating profit margin % |
24.14 |
29.32 |
| Dividends paid |
19,419 |
27,456 |
GANNETT UK |
2008 |
2007 |
| Turnover |
608,888 |
621,387 |
| Operating profit |
184,191 |
189,007 |
| Operating profit margin % |
30.25 |
30.42 |
| Dividends paid |
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DAILY MAIL & GENERAL TRUST |
2008 |
2007 |
| Turnover |
2,312,000 |
2,235,100 |
| Operating profit |
317,000 |
322,000 |
| Operating profit margin % | 13.71 |
14.41 |
| Dividends |
56,300 |
52,600 |
The DMGT figures cover Northcliffe Newspapers, the regional press arm, but also the Daily Mail and other national titles. |
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For comparison on profits: Tesco, which reported all-time UK record profits for 2008 of £52 billion in April, achieved an operating profit margin of just 5.5 per cent.
Research by David Ayrton