Guardian News and Media continues to lose over £30m as it cuts annual losses
Guardian Media Group has today announced its figures for the financial year ending 31 March 2013, revealing that it has reduced its losses from last year's figure of £44.2m to £30.9m.
The publisher also revealed that revenue from continuing businesses was £206.8m – up by £0.5m from 2012 and that there was an increase in revenue at Guardian News and Media (GNM) from £194.4m in 2012 to £196.3m during the latest financial year.
GNM also saw an increase in revenue in the area of digital, having moved towards a ‘digital first’ strategy. GNM digital revenue increased by 28.9 per cent to £55.9m for the year ending March 2013.
Andrew Miller, chief executive officer of GMG, said: “The financial impact of our digital-first strategy, launched two years ago, is clearly demonstrated in our performance in 2012/13. A sharp increase In the contribution of our digital operations to revenue was a striking feature, enabling a modest increase in overall Group revenues. Having committed to digital earlier than our peers, we are now reaping the benefits.
“There was a significant reduction in losses at GNM as it completed the second year of its five-year transformation programme. The reduction in losses would have been even greater, had we not chosen to invest a significant proportion of the efficiency savings in new developments. Investing in the future is a key part of our strategy for this news organisation – every bit as important as the target of taking £25m out of the cost base by the end of 2015/16. Thus far, we are meeting or exceeding all our targets in this respect.
“As we have seen so spectacularly in recent months, having a powerful global brand – underpinned by financial stability, a unique ownership structure and strong editorial values – means we are well-placed to ensure a long-term, commercially viable future for Guardian journalism.”
The GNM revenue and GNM digital revenue figures for 2013 and 2012 have been restated to exclude revenue from Kable, the trade and assets of which were sold in July 2013.