Independent News & Media Regulatory News (INM)

Independent News & Media PLC

Interim Management Statement

Market leading newspaper group with continued digital advertising growth; APN divestment significantly strengthens balance sheet

Dublin and London, 19 May 2015: Independent News & Media PLC (INM ID, INM LN), the leading newspaper and media group across the island of Ireland, today issues the following Interim Management Statement covering the period from 1 January 2015 to 1 May 2015 inclusive for the Continuing Group.

· APN shareholding divested for €115.8m, proceeds will be used to clear Group debt in its entirety

· Total Group revenues declined by 1.0%

· Total advertising revenue growth of 2.9%

· Digital advertising revenue growth of 45.6%, offsetting the decline in publishing advertising revenue

· Total circulation revenues declined by 4.2%

· Continued reduction in operating costs with a particular focus on efficiencies, whilst investing in our businesses where appropriate

· Further modernisation of INM into an agile media organisation to capitalise on opportunities within our constantly evolving sector

Market conditions have continued to improve over the period, delivering a positive impact on advertising revenue growth and profitability. Several publishing advertising categories have recorded year-on-year positive progress including Motors, Holidays/Travel, Magazines and Features/Supplements.

There has been strong growth in digital advertising revenue, with a continuation of the positive trajectory reported in the 2014 full year results, validating the unique audience reach INM offers advertisers. This growth has been driven by the continued shift of advertising budgets to digital, the increased monetisation of advertising space via new technology platforms and the roll out of new digital products.

Overall, Group revenues have been adversely impacted by the continued declines in circulation revenues. However, these declines have been offset by continued cost savings which have mitigated the impact on EBIT.

2015 has started well and we remain confident that our full year performance will be in line with expectations.

Sale of APN Shareholding

On 19 March 2015, the Group announced the sale of 191,541,073 ordinary shares in APN, being the Group's entire holding in APN (representing 18.61% of the issued share capital of APN).

The sale is being executed in two tranches - Tranche 1 was completed in March 2015, whilst Tranche 2 will complete on or around end-May 2015 but in any event no later than 3 June 2015. Net proceeds will be used to clear Group debt in its entirety, significantly strengthening the Group balance sheet.

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