Reach has hailed the success of its online strategy and vowed to continue investing in growth, as its digital growth more than offset print decline.
Reach, whose brands include the Daily Record and Insider, reported its full year results for 2021 today.
Revenue for the year was £615.8m - up 2.6% last year.
Adjusted operating profits rose 9.2% to £146.1m, while adjusted pre-tax profit was £143.5m, up from £131.3m in 2020.
Group like-for-like revenue was up 1.3% - the first organic growth for 15 years.
Group chief executive Jim Mullen said the group’s focus on customer engagement was seeing strong results, with audience, page views per visitor and loyalty all up on 2019 figures.
Reach has the biggest monthly audience of any commercial publisher, with just under 42m people visiting its sites every month.
The group said it was on track to double digital revenue by the end of 2024.
Digital revenue for 2021 was £148.3m - up 25.4% - with digital now accounting for 24% of its revenue mix, compared to 15% in 2019.
The group also today vowed to continue to invest in long-term profit growth. But it also warned that inflation, particularly in the cost of newsprint, would have an impact on 2022 results.
Mullen said: “Despite inflationary pressures in print, we’re committed to maintaining our focus on sustainable long-term profit growth, investing in product innovation and a more personalised user experience.
“Our strong balance sheet and cash generation underpins continued investment as we transition to an increased mix of higher quality digital earnings.”
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