Reach PLC
LSE:RCH
Reach PLC
Reach Plc engages in publishing newspapers and magazines. The Company’s products and services include Print Formats A4 magazine, Berliner, broadsheet, compact magazine, marketing communications, maxi magazine and tabloid. The Company’s brands include the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Sunday Star, Sunday People, Daily Record and Sunday Mail. Its regional footprint includes the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, Birmingham Mail and Bristol Post. In Ireland, the Company is a publisher of national and regional news brands with a portfolio that includes the Irish Daily Star, Northern Irish and Irish editions of the Daily and Sunday Mirror newspapers, the Sunday People newspaper.
Reach Plc engages in publishing newspapers and magazines. The Company’s products and services include Print Formats A4 magazine, Berliner, broadsheet, compact magazine, marketing communications, maxi magazine and tabloid. The Company’s brands include the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Sunday Star, Sunday People, Daily Record and Sunday Mail. Its regional footprint includes the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, Birmingham Mail and Bristol Post. In Ireland, the Company is a publisher of national and regional news brands with a portfolio that includes the Irish Daily Star, Northern Irish and Irish editions of the Daily and Sunday Mirror newspapers, the Sunday People newspaper.
Revenue: Reach reported H1 2022 revenue of £297.4 million, down 1.6% year-on-year but still significantly better than pre-COVID levels.
Digital Growth: Digital revenue grew by 5.4% in the half, supported by a shift to higher-yielding, data-driven products, with data-led revenues now nearly a third of digital income.
Cost Inflation: Costs rose 7.1% due to £18 million of inflation, mainly from record-high newsprint prices, but the cost base remains £30 million lower than in 2019.
Profit & Margins: Adjusted operating profit fell to £47.2 million and margins dropped to 15.9%, reflecting input cost pressures and continued investment.
Dividends & Cash: The interim dividend increased by 4.7% to £0.0288 per share, and the company maintained a net cash position of £44 million.
Programmatic Yields: Open marketplace advertising yields dropped by 40% in Q2, but data-led advertising yields held steady, now 10x higher than open market ads.
Operational Response: The company accelerated cover price increases, reduced print pagination and supply, and achieved further efficiency gains to offset inflation.
Outlook: Management expects continued macro headwinds, subdued digital ad markets, and ongoing cost inflation, but remains confident in strategy and medium-term prospects.
