Telegraph Group reports £60m profit hike

The Telegraph Media Group says pre-tax profit increased 11% to £58.9m in 2010, bolstered by improvements to online and print advertising revenue.

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Revenue was £323.8m in the year to 2 January 2011, up 2.1% year-on-year. The Group also reported year on year growth in circulation, digital and “other” consumer revenue categories.

The publisher of the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph has attributed growth to tight cost control, lower newsprint prices and resurgence in the advertising market.

In a statement published today the Group says: “After weak advertising markets in 2009, the Group saw a return to advertising revenue growth in 2010.”

The Telegraph introduced new “clubs” to its existing loyalty programme for its flagship daily paper earlier this year in an effort to encourage and increase subscriber retention. However, The Daily Telegraph’s circulation declined 3.51% month on month to 646,517 in February and is down 12.04% year on year.

Telegraph Media Group is planning to start charging for some of its digital content later this year, according to reports. It has been in talks with digital agencies to overhaul its website, and explore how to introduce a hybrid paid-model.

The rationale behind the move, according to industry commentators, is to make print subscribers, who would gain free access to the online digital content, feel they were receiving a more valuable product.

Although at present The Telegraph’s iPhone and iPad apps are free, a wider range of digital subscription services is expected to follow.

This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk

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