(Sharecast News) - UK newspaper publisher Reach on Tuesday said trading was ahead of expectations, driven by a rise in customer registrations for its websites.
The company, which owns the Daily Mirror newspaper and other titles reported a rise in revenues between June 28 and November 21. Digital sales rose 17.2%, offsetting a 3.5% decline in print for overall rise of 1.2%.
Customer registrations rose to more than 8m from 6.7m at the end of July. Reach has set a target of 10m registered users.
"A strong digital revenue performance in the period was driven by yield expansion, supported by strategic delivery and a recovery in digital advertising versus 2020. On a two-year basis, digital revenue growth remains encouraging, up by 39% for the year-to-date, with average page views growing by 30%," the company said.
Reach said it now expected group revenue of £604.1m and adjusted operating profit of £145.8m for 2021, according to the latest company-compiled forecasts.