UK news publisher Reach hit by Facebook’s changes

Britain’s Reach, the publisher of the Daily Mirror and Daily Express, reported a 24% drop in first-half adjusted operating profit after it was hit by Facebook (NASDAQ:META)’s move away from news content and a tough market for print advertising.

The company said on Tuesday it would cut costs to improve its performance in the second half, allowing it to maintain profit expectations.

Chief Executive Jim Mullen said digital revenue, which fell 16% to 60.8 million pounds ($78.1 million), had been “materially affected” by lower referral traffic, particularly after Facebook deprioritised news content.

However, Reach’s focus on its own customer data was increasing its exposure to directly sold, higher value advertising, he said.

Print revenue declined 2.7% to 217.3 million pounds after cover price increases largely offset advertising declines, the company said. It added that newsprint costs had started to fall, which would help reduce costs in the second half.

Shares in Reach, which have fallen 41% in the last 12 months, rose 9% in early deals.

Analysts at Numis said the half-year numbers had come in ahead of cautious estimates and the company had given a reassuring outlook despite the macroeconomic backdrop.

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