Daily Mirror owner to cut 200 jobs as shares slump

SHARES in Reach Plc tumbled after the Daily Mirror owner warned its profits would be lower than hoped.

The newspaper publisher, which also owns the Daily Express and Daily Star, said its profit for the year would fall short of the £112.8m predicted by analysts.

Shares fell 26pc, or 28.4p, to 81p following the news. The downgraded forecast came as it reported revenues fell 4.2pc in the three months to December.

Price increases helped circulation revenue rise 1.8pc during the period but the gains were wiped out after income from print advertising tumbled 20.2pc. Digital revenues were down 5.9pc.

The fall in revenues was driven by clients choosing to spend less money on marketing during Black Friday and Christmas.

The group, which has cut costs to soften the blow, has set a target of saving around £30m this year.

But this could result in the loss of around 200 jobs. Panmure Gordon analyst Johnathan Barrett said there was huge value in Reach’s digital audience and it could become a takeover target for ‘any media company with the financial firepower who is looking for online consumer audiences’.

The stock market in London returned to positive territory, with the FTSE 100 up 0.4pc, or 30.49 points, to 7724.98 – its highest level since mid-2008 and not far from its all-time record close of 7877. The FTSE 250 added 0.7pc, or 130.73 points, to 19521.70.

Back in London, car dealership Lookers hiked its profit forecast for the year to more than £80m, up from a previous estimate of ‘not less than £75m’ after strong trading. Its new car sales climbed by 4.1pc in the three months to December, outperforming the industry’s 1pc growth.

Used car sales and revenue from servicing were both nearly 10pc higher than the same period during 2021. Shares gained 5pc, or 3.9p, to 81.8p.

Topps Tiles is set to meet its target to increase its market share to 20pc by 2025, ahead of schedule.

The flooring retailer said sales were 10.2pc higher in the 13 weeks to December compared with a year earlier. At the end of October its market share was 19pc. Its shares fell 0.6pc, or 0.3p, to 46.8p.

Bowling alley operator Ten Entertainment Group hailed a record-breaking year as sales rose nearly 90pc for the year to January 1, meaning it now expects annual profit to be close to £26m. Its shares were up by 0.2pc, or 0.5p, to 293p.

Less than a week after the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates walked away from tabling an offer, Standard Chartered embarked on a hunt for a new owner of its aviation finance business. This unit makes up around 2pc of the international lender’s total income. Shares slid 0.1pc, or 0.4p, to 687.4p.

There was some respite for the recruitment industry after Page Group insisted it continued to see ‘candidate shortages and good levels of vacancies’.

The outlook came even though it suffered a weaker final quarter of 2022.

As a result, Page Group expects an annual profit of £195m, down on a previous estimate of £204m.

Despite this, shares gained 1.6pc, or 7.2p, to 446p.

It followed a bleak update from rival Robert Walters 24 hours earlier which sent shares across the industry tumbling.

Ferrexpo boss Jim North hailed the ‘ determination’ of his workforce after it produced 6.1m tons of pellets in a year blighted by the Ukraine war, which battered the iron ore miner’s production, with 2022’s volume nearly half that of the previous 12 months.

The company’s shares rose 2pc, or 3.4p, to 173.2p.