National World. Regulatory News (NWOR)

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF REGULATION 2014/596/EU (WHICH FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC UK LAW PURSUANT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 (THE "EUWA")) ("UK MAR"). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION (AS DEFINED IN UK MAR) IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

National World plc

("the Company" or the Group")

Trading update for the 21 week period ending 28 May 2022

National World plc issues the following trading update for the 21 week period to 28 May 2022 ("the period") ahead of its Annual General meeting on 26 May 2022.

Commenting on the trading update, National World's Chairman, David Montgomery, said:

"We have had a robust start to 2022. Despite a more uncertain trading environment, we are accelerating our transformation into a premium content and sales business across all platforms. We continue to launch new products, invest in organic growth, enhance heritage assets and streamline our infrastructure to create further efficiencies.

Management is pursuing acquisition opportunities to build scale and enhance shareholder value."

Trading

Revenue for the period is expected to grow by 4% year on year with 5% growth in the first quarter and growth of 1% in April and May.

Digital revenue is expected to grow by 38% year on year for the period, with continuing strong growth of 28% in April and May. Whilst the war in Ukraine has created volatility in audience numbers during the period, the revenue impact has been mitigated by stronger yields and increased video advertising, (the latter almost doubling year-on-year).

Print revenue is expected to decline by 2% in the period with advertising revenue increasing by 3% and circulation revenue falling by 7%. A marginal decline in print revenue in the first quarter has been offset by a decline of 4% in April and May driven by stronger comparatives last year.

Our national site, nationalworld.com, continues to deliver strong growth with monthly page views increasing to 20 million in April 2022, one year after its launch. As well as establishing this UK wide footprint from a limited regional presence, National World has launched seven Metro World brands into all major centres, including London, Birmingham and Manchester. This online-only portfolio is being further extended by three cities.

Careful cost management continues to support the Group's digital investment and helps it mitigate the impact of newsprint price rises and other inflationary cost pressures.

Financial position

The Group maintains a strong financial position with a cash balance of c.£25 million at the end of May offset by £1.0 million of outstanding loan note debt and a £2.5 million deferred consideration.

Outlook

The trading environment is challenging with market expectations of a significant slowdown in the UK economy impacting consumer confidence, driven by rising inflation and interest rates. However, the Board remains confident that investment in and development of our digital business together with careful management of the cost base will support profits and cash flow. At this stage, the Board expects performance for the year to be in line with the Company's expectations

- Ends -

For the purposes of UK MAR the person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of National World is Vijay Vaghela, Chief Operating Officer.

Enquiries:

Forward-looking statements

This announcement may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this announcement and include statements regarding the directors' current intentions, beliefs or expectations concerning, among other things, the Company's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the Company's markets. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. Actual results and developments could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statements in this announcement are based on certain factors and assumptions, including the directors' current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Company's operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. Whilst the directors consider these assumptions to be reasonable based upon information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Save as required by applicable law or regulation, the Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements in this announcement that may occur due to any change in the directors' expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement.