Emap held back by French arm
Contrasting fortunes in the UK and France for publisher Emap contrived to reduce its first-half profits by 2%, it emerged today.
Emap said the fall was largely due to French readers deciding against buying magazines at news-stands, while advertisers were wary of splashing out on promoting products via print media.
Underlying revenues were down 4% in France compared with growth of 3% in the UK, where Emap was able to capture more of the magazine market on the back of demand for new weekly glossy Grazia and titles such as Zoo and heat.
Emap said weekly sales of Grazia had topped 155,000 since its launch in February – ahead of internal targets – and this had continued despite a recent hike in the cover price.
Investment behind Grazia in the UK and the £6m (€8.9m) spent on launching Closer in France hurt margins in both markets.
Operating profits were halved in France to £14m (€20.8m) as the firm counted the cost of this expenditure, falling news-stand sales and lower advertising revenues for its TV listings.
But chief executive Tom Moloney insisted the group remained on track to hit its full-year goals: “There has been a strong performance from new launches, and the investments being made across the group are encouraging for the future.”
Emap, which also owns radio stations and holds conferences and trade exhibitions, reported that pre-tax profits dropped to £95m (€141m) during the six months to September 30 from £97m (€144m) a year ago.
This was despite a 6% increase in turnover to £554m (€822.6m) in the same period. The figures do not include disposals or the amortisation of assets.
