Smiths News reports 3.3% group revenue increase for Q3 following The Consortium acquisition
UK newspaper and magazine wholesaler Smiths News, has reported a 3.3 per cent group revenue increase for its third quarter, following its acquisition of consumable product distributor The Consortium.
The increase in revenue is partly attributed in an interim management statement by the company to contributions made by the Dawson businesses, which were acquired alongside The Consortium last August.
However, the statement, which covers the 44 week period until 7 July, also saw revenue decline 2.6 per cent for newspapers and 4.1 per cent for magazines, on a like-for-like basis, with cover prices rising in order to support newspaper performances and offset volume declines amongst magazines.
Media and marketing revenue did increase by 6.7 per cent in total, and on a like-for-like basis, by 8.6 per cent, while revenues for Bertram Books also grew by 32.5 per cent, and by 4.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis.
Having been acquired last year for £38m, The Consortium is reported to have trade ‘in line’ with management expectations, with revenue for 11 weeks after the acquisition said to be 7.2 per cent ahead of 2011’s figures, however the company’s net debt on 30 June grew as a result of the acquisition.