Trinity Mirror cuts costs to save profits ahead of Reach rebrand

Trinity Mirror reported falling revenues and an upcoming rebrand on Monday as the publisher released its financial results for 2017.

The company, which plans to change its name to Reach, saw a 12.6% decrease in revenues to £623m in 2017 compared to the previous year, with online advertising sales failing to make up for the 11.3% drop in revenues to £493.9m from print publishing.

However, cutting costs by £20m ensured that pre-tax profits rose 7% to £81.9m.

Trinity Mirror registered net debt of £9m at the end of the year, having fully repaid an outstanding £68.3m on private placement loan notes, and cash and cash equivalents of £16m, down from £37.8m the previous year.

Simon Fox, chief Executive of Trinity Mirror, said: "We once again delivered a strong financial performance in what remains a difficult trading environment for the industry. I am pleased with the acquisition of the publishing assets of Northern & Shell in line with our strategic focus on consolidation and I believe this presents significant opportunities to realise real value."

The publisher of the Daily Mirror completed its deal to acquire Northern & Shell’s publishing assets, including The Express and The Star, on 28 February after gaining shareholder approval the day before.

Trinity Mirror paid £126.7m in the deal with Richard Desmond, and agreed to pay a further £70.4m in staff pension schemes through to 2027.

The proposed name change to Reach plc to reflect the evolution of the company will be put forward at the annual general meeting on 3 May.

“Our reach extends across multiple platforms in both Print and Digital and across the cities and communities that we serve. We think this is a name which better reflects what we do and what our ambitions are,” said Fox.

As of 1646 GMT, Trinity Mirror’s shares were up 1.59% at 76.70p.