Market-wise it hasn’t been the most exciting year for the newspaper firm. Opening at 79.2p, it found itself trading at a 6 year-plus low of 65p, before recovering to a 6 month high by the middle of March. It spent much of spring then bouncing between 80p and 85p, before slipping out of that bracket to briefly plunge under 70p in mid-June. It’s recovered somewhat since then, with Reach PLC now at a current trading price of 78.8p.
Part of the problem for Reach has been the uncertainty surrounding the takeover of Northern & Shell’s Express Newspapers, a stable of titles including the Daily Express, Daily Star and OK!. Though the acquisition had been completed, an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority and a review prompted by the Secretary of State meant that the recently purchased brands had to be held separate to the rest of the business.
Fortunately, on 20th June it was revealed the merger did not require further investigation, meaning Reach can finally push forward with integrating its new titles into its pre-existing portfolio, a move CEO Simon Fox said would leave the firm ‘better able to compete and adapt to the challenging conditions’ in which the company operates. Investors will be looking for a more substantial update on its plans for the business on Friday.
As for its actual performance, Reach said back in May that for the 4 month period to 29th April the Group, excluding Express and Star titles, like-for-like revenue plunged 9%. The 11% decline in print revenue was slightly softened by the 2% rise in digital revenue, with publishing print advertising dropping 17% and circulation down by 7%. The Express and Star titles, meanwhile, saw a 5% slide in like-for-like revenue, with an 8% slip in print and a 40% surge in digital. An improvement on these figures would be welcome from Friday’s statement.
Reach PLC (LON:RCH) has a consensus rating of ‘Buy’ alongside an average target price of £2.
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