Daily Mail owner ad, events revenues slump amid Covid crisis

The publisher of the Daily Mail has reported a 15% fall in first quarter revenue on the back of weaker print advertising income and cancellations in its events business.

Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on Thursday said revenue for the three months to December 31 fell to £304m on an underlying basis. After excluding the impact of cancelled events this fall narrowed to 5%.

Newspaper print advertising revenues slumped 38%, compared to an 8% rise in digital advertising as they Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns hammered the business. DMGT said it had seen a 2% fall in circulation revenue, a blow in part cushioned when it bought the i newspaper in 2019.

Without the acquisition, circulation revenue would have decreased by 7%, while revenue was also helped by a 10p hike in the price of the Daily Mail in January last year.

The group said that the impact of the pandemic meant it was difficult to provide short-term forecasts.

“The print advertising market remains challenging and the revenue impact was exacerbated by reduced readership of Metro,” DMGT said.

“Excluding Metro, total advertising was in line with the prior year on an underlying basis. MailOnline achieved strong growth as it delivered high and increasing levels of engagement with the direct audience.”

The events and exhibitions arm saw its revenue drop by 95% across the three months, DMGT said, taking a hit from postponements and cancellations.

However, it added that other than for a few smaller shows, "no changes have been made to the 2021 events schedule in recent months".

“The vaccination programmes in Dubai and Singapore, where Gastech is scheduled to be held in September 2021, are progressing, but exhibitors’ and delegates’ ability and willingness to travel internationally remain uncertain,” the company said.