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Johnston Press slips to loss after 164m impairment charge

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Newspaper publisher Johnston Press has blamed a mass cut of the book value of its newspapers as the reason for recording a pre-tax loss of 144m last year.

In its results to 31 December 2011, the company recorded a £143.8m loss, compared to a £16.5m pre-tax profit in 2010.

Overall revenue dropped 6% to £373.8m year-on-year.

According to Johnston Press chief executive Ashley Highfield, performance was dragged down by a £163.7m non-cash charge relating to impairment in the value of its titles, which ultimately means the company has cut the book value from £907m in 2010 to £743m last year.

But, Highfield said that the results without the exceptional charge were still positive and in line with the company's expectations.

Without the impairment, Johnston Press experienced a pre-tax profit fall of 6.9% year-on-year to £28.4m.

However, the first 15 weeks of 2012 has not been kind to the company, with total advertising revenue falling by 10.6% compared to last year.

Highfield, said: "Although the prospects for the economy remain downbeat in the short term, I believe we can return Johnston Press to being a growth business through the twin track approach of re-launching and revitalising our papers while simultaneously growing our websites, and taking full advantage of the opportunities created by technology and the changing media demands of our users to deliver innovative propositions."

Newspaper publisher Johnston Press has blamed a mass cut of the book value of its newspapers as the reason for recording a pre-tax loss of £144m last year.
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