Reach Plc Regulatory News (RCH)

8 January 2021

Reach plc

Reach exceeds 2020 market expectations with record Q4 digital performance

Reach plc ("Reach", the Company") today announces that it expects underlying operating profit for 2020 to be ahead of market expectations, in the range of £130 to £135 million, following a record digital revenue performance.

Digital revenue grew by 24.9% in Q4, up from 13.4% in Q3. Print circulation sales were down 11.7% in Q4, an improvement on the 12.6% decline in Q3. These trends contributed to an improved total revenue decline in Q4 of 10.2%, compared with the 14.8% decline in Q3.

In December, the Company reached the milestone of 5 million online customer registrations and completed the development of Reach ID, its proprietary customer insight platform which provides a combined view of a user's activity across all Reach sites. These steps are key to the Customer Value Strategy, which is enabling Reach to use enhanced data and insights to drive new product innovations and to grow revenue through more targeted brand opportunities and commercial partnerships.  Reach continues to build on its position as the UK's leading news publisher and in January will launch new sites covering Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire as well as expanding its MyLondon editorial team.  

Commenting on the news Chief Executive Officer Jim Mullen said:

"It is a testament to our people that Reach has not only dealt with the unique challenges 2020 has presented, but we have accelerated our strategy and we are ahead of where we expected to be. The new COVID-19 restrictions bring macro-economic uncertainty, but the changes made in the business during 2020 to develop a new, more efficient operating model put us in a strong competitive position."

 About Reach plc

Reach plc is the largest commercial national and regional news publisher in the UK with a leading portfolio in Ireland. We create engaging, differentiated content which is distributed through newspapers, magazines and digital platforms - playing a central role in our audiences' daily lives.

Our national and regional brands have a long heritage of being trusted sources of the latest news, information, sport and entertainment, offering a range of opportunities to connect brands with consumers. With one of the biggest monthly multi-platform audiences in the UK and over 5 million registered customers, Reach's national and regional news brands are prominent champions, campaigners and changemakers.

For more information visit www.reachplc.com.