Johnston warns ad revenues will slow

REGIONAL newspaper publisher Johnston Press beat analysts' profit forecasts for the first half of the year but warned that advertising revenue growth would slow in the second half.

Reporting actual and like-for-like advertising revenue growth of 6% in the six months to 30 June, chief executive Tim Bowdler blamed the anticipated slowdown on a particularly tough comparison with the fourth quarter of last year, when Johnston saw a surge in job ads.

'The second half has started well, with advertising revenue up 6.8% in July on a year ago,' Bowdler said. 'We are not seeing the advertising recovery losing momentum - consumers are still spending with confidence and the property market is seeing a high volume of transactions.'

Employment advertising, particularly in the South, was up by 13.3% in the first half. Pre-tax profits rose 16% to £77.3m, and the interim dividend was lifted from 2p to 2.4p.

Bowdler said Johnston, which owns the Yorkshire Post, remained on the acquisition trail. 'There will be ownership changes in our market place - we are always on the lookout,' he said.