Revenue at DC Thomson was slightly down last year but digital news subscriptions saw a “strong increase”, the Press & Journal, Stylist and Beano publisher has said.
Recurring trading revenue at DC Thomson was down 6% to £134.5m in the year to 31 March 2024, attributed to the closures of holiday booking platform Bunkered Golf Breaks, Scottish radio station Pure Radio “and several magazine titles that were approaching the end of their commercial life”. But like-for-like revenues (from continuing businesses) were down £1m.
DC Thomson also saw a recovery in profit after a year in which a fall in the unrealised value of its financial investments led to a pre-tax loss of £161.5m. In the year to March 2024, it was back into pre-tax profits of £93.8m of which £92m was attributed to its financial assets, leaving £1.8m in profit from the core businesses.
In its accounts filed at Companies House, DC Thomson said the year “reflected the continuing development of the media trading business and the cloud services division,” referring to its Brightsolid IT business, “supported by the strong pension and investment portfolios”.
Of the media business, it said the strategy “remains on course and largely unchanged: to deliver sustainable growth by protecting profits and diversifying revenues. We will protect profits by managing our margins in print; diversify revenues through developing new audiences and products, and by evolving our capabilities… We are showing progress as we gradually pivot from casual purchase to a deeper direct-to-customer relationship, generating predictable recurring revenues through subscriptions and memberships.”
DC Thomson publishes a portfolio of Scottish newspapers including the Press & Journal, The Courier, The Sunday Post and the Evening Express as well as magazine titles like the Beano, The Scots Magazine, Stylist and Puzzler and B2B brands such as Energy Voice and radio stations including Original 106 FM.
Subscriptions only DC Thomson revenue type to grow
Subscriptions were the only revenue type to grow in the year to 31 March 2024, up 2% to £40.6m. The accounts stated there was a “continuing strong increase in news digital subscriber volumes” but did not specify a number. It previously set a target of reaching 75,000 digital subscriptions by 2025.
DC Thomson also counts subscribers for its ancestry business Findmypast, for which it said revenue has remained "stable" because it is continuing to benefit from having the exclusive rights to publish the exclusive rights to publish the 1921 England and Wales census.
Newsstand revenues were down 3% to £51.1m with price increases reducing the effect of sales declines.
The publisher's two biggest newspaper titles, the Aberdeen Press & Journal and The Courier in Dundee, had an average circulation of 21,765 (down 12%) and 16,757 (down 13%) respectively in the first half of 2024.
Advertising was down 1% to £17m with a reduction in revenues from the closure of Scottish station Pure Radio being "compensated" by stronger national news sales.
Cloud services revenues were down 1% to £9m, while other revenues grouped together (including events, contract print, marketing services data and IP sales) were also down 1% to £16.8m. Events revenues dropped due to the closure of the Bunkered Live golf events.
In total the closed activities, including Bunkered Live, Pure Radio and multiple magazines, brought in £7.6m in the year before (to 31 March 2023).
That year, DC Thomson made around 300 job cuts. Subsequently last year, to 31 March 2024, the company had an average employee count of 1,314.
Staff costs before severance and pension payments were down from £61m to £60m due to the smaller headcount and reduced cost of living payments compared to previous years. Severance costs were down from £6.5m to £2.1m. The highest-paid member of management received £407,000, down from £459,000 the year before.
The publisher said in its accounts it has integrated all its media divisions into "one business led by one leadership team, united behind one strategy”.
Overall costs were down 14% due to the closures and a softening in the effect from inflation as well as optimised print operations and falling paper and energy prices.
The accounts also referenced DC Thomson's efforts to save money, including by implementing uses of AI: “As reported last year and, in common with many of our peers, demand was adversely affected by pressure on UK consumers’ real disposable income and consumer confidence. As a result, we have continued the theme of efficiency in trading operations through staff changes and training programmes. This involves the use of technical solutions and the use of artificial intelligence tools as they develop. This however is done with a look to the culture of our business, which will always prioritise quality journalism and content creation.
“Our transformation journey is showing momentum, and it is understood that it will take time and investment. A number of operational changes were made in the year that are reflected in the accounts in this report.”
DC Thomson chairman Christopher Thomson said: “While challenging conditions persist around economic growth in the UK, these results highlight the resilience and adaptability of our company and colleagues, supported by our strong reserve position.
“This is truly one of the most exciting periods in our history as we continue to navigate our journey to long-term sustainable growth.”
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