The business, which acquired JPI Media in a deal worth £10.2m in January this year, said in a trading update for the year ending 1 January 2022 that it is also open to adding to its heritage assets to build scale and enhance shareholder value through synergies.
The company said its performance in the second half of the year “has remained robust” and that the board expects the full year adjusted results to be “substantially ahead of the company's expectations”.
“Since the acquisition of JPI Media and its subsidiaries, the modernisation of the business has proceeded at pace and we have established a media presence across the whole of the UK with numerous online launches. At the same time, we have delivered efficiencies and there has been an improvement in advertising revenue,” National World stated.
Presenting its year-on-year revenue trends on a like-for-like basis, assuming the JPI Media business was acquired at the beginning of 2020, National World said its revenue for the full year is expected to be around £85m, with revenue in the second half “expected to be broadly in line with the second half of 2020”.
Digital revenue growth of around 20% is expected for the full year, with print revenue year-on-year trends expected to be significantly improved, with a decline of around 3% in the second half compared to the 9% decline in the first half.
The group added it maintains a strong financial position, with cash balances expected to be around £23m at the end of the year, representing an improvement of around £4m since June 2021.
The business said it is continuing to implement its strategy to localise, energise, digitise and monetise relevant and unique content “to deliver enhanced value and build a sustainable content and sales business across multiple brands and platforms”.
It said key operational highlights in the second half included the launch of seven new ‘World’ brand news sites in major cities not historically served by JPI newsbrands, giving the business a UK-wide footprint; the growth of online newspaper nationalworld.com; and the continued consolidation of local newsbrands into larger county sites under the 'World' brand, simplifying the online portfolio.
Other highlights included the further rationalisation of its regional management structure with two smaller regions (North East and North West) consolidated into a new North region; and the delivery of targeted annualised cost savings in excess of £5m (net of National World management costs) with restructuring costs of around £4m.
The business also started the rationalisation of its property portfolio with a reduction in office space as it continues to adopt flexible working. It said this will result in one-off costs for vacant space and lease obligations for a number of properties that will be fully or partially vacated by the end of the year.
Looking ahead, the group said it is currently implementing a new phase of restructure to create a sustainable premium content and sales business as well as maintaining performance in the near term.
While the trading environment “remains uncertain due to the pandemic and rising newsprint and energy prices”, the board said it is looking forward to reporting further progress in 2022 and beyond.
It concluded: “The board thanks JPI Media's talented staff for successfully completing the first stage of reorganisation on the journey to a sustainable operating model.”
For the six-month period ended 3 July 2021, National World recorded revenue of £42.1m and made a pre-tax profit of £3.5m.
