Northcliffe’s decision to switch four of its daily titles to weeklies saw a 7 per cent drop in circulation revenue in the three months to 1 January 2012 for the regional publisher, figures released this morning reveal.
Last year Torquay’s Herald Express, the Express & Echo in Exeter, the Scunthorpe Telegraph and the Lincolnshire Echo all became weekly titles, with the subsequent fall in circulation contributing to a 9 per cent fall in Northcliffe’s total revenue to £53m – the company said in an interim management statement.
Northcliffe said the circulation declines would be offset by cover price rises, though advertising revenue was also down 10 per cent year on year, with an underlying decline of 6 per cent.
This morning’s figures also show that headcount has fallen a further 3 per cent during the quarter from 2,530 to 2,450.
Recruitment revenues were down 13 per cent year on year, with motors down 7 per cent, retail down per cent and other categories down 4 per cent.
Publishing costs were cut by 12 per cent during the three-month period.
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