Shares in the owner of i newspaper, Johnston Press (LON:JPR), rose nearly 10 percent on Friday after defying a difficult market to report an increase in circulation across all titles.
The i newspaper saw a 5 percent increase in volume sales in the fourth quarter, despite a 25 percent price hike. Circulation revenues rose 20 percent compared to the equivalent quarter last year, with market share increasing to 17 percent.
Johnston Press news brands, which also include the Yorkshire Post and The Scotsman, also benefitted from an increasing social media following over the last quarter. The company hit record web figures with 114 million page views, up 15 percent year on year on January 2016, and increasing revenue by 10 percent year on year. Their social network presence also grew, with a 60 percent increase in followers on Facebook through 2016, to two million followers.
However the publishing market still proved difficult in the fourth quarter, with total revenues for the company dropping by 6 percent. Total advertising revenue also fell 3 percent over the last quarter, an improvement on the 7 percent fall seen in quarter three. Excluding the i, total advertising revenue declined 9.7 percent for the year, having declined 12 percent in Q3.
Ashley Highfield, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“Despite the challenging print market, including a very difficult summer prompted by Brexit-related uncertainties, we have seen some improvement in our markets during the fourth quarter.
“Whilst we expect the overall market environment to remain challenging for both the Group and the industry as a whole, we remain focused on delivering on our strategic priorities of growing our overall audience, driving the further success of the i newspaper, delivering a more efficient editorial and sales operation and strengthening the balance sheet.”
Overall investors were impressed with the company’s performance, sending shares higher on Friday. Shares are currently up 8.73 percent at 17.12 (1344GMT).