Edinburgh-Based Johnston Press Warns Of Election Hit

The Edinburgh-based owner of The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post has warned over a hit to profits after advertisers delayed and cut spending around May's general election.

Johnston Press said half-year and full-year profits would be knocked after seeing advertising revenues and circulation sales fall in the 26 weeks to July 4 - down by around 5% and 5.5% respectively.

The group said advertisers chose to hold off and slash spending across print and online amid the uncertainty caused by the election.

Johnston took action to limit the impact, but said half-year profits were still expected to come in below a year earlier, while profits over the full year would now be slightly below'' forecasts in the market.

Chief executive Ashley Highfield said: Trading conditions in the first half of 2015 have undoubtedly been challenging, especially in the period around the general election - a time when there was also a high degree of uncertainty in the wider market.''

He added there were still encouraging signs from digital revenues, which the group has been focusing on to help offset ongoing pressure on print ad sales.

Digital revenues are expected to have jumped by around 17% in the group's first half, while readers visiting its sites are up by more than a fifth.

The group also said there were signs of a pick-up in trading so far in July.

But it cautioned that despite better trading since the election and aims to cut costs to fund revenue growth plans, full-year profits were still likely to be below expectations.

Shares tumbled by around 15% after the profit warning. Johnston Press owns around 250 newspapers and 198 websites, recently adding weekly free title The Brighton and Hove Independent to its portfolio.

Originally founded in Falkirk in 1767, Johnston has been battling to overcome the decline in the wider UK newspaper market in recent years, slashing costs and boosting its online offering.