The Daily Mail's earnings suggest Brexit's impact on advertising may not be as disastrous as first thought
The owner of British newspapers The Daily Mail and Metro revealed that print advertising revenues fell just 8% in the three weeks after the EU referendum on 23 June.
This was better than the 11% decline over the three months to 30 June - the period that the Q3 earnings covered - and a significant improvement on the 15% deterioration in ad revenues in the second quarter.
Daily Mail and General Trust share price increased 2% on Thursday morning following the financial update and analyst Liberum said the earnings should "reassure" investors. Numis added that the post-referendum figures are "particularly encouraging."
The news is a possible signal that the worst of the ad downturn is over and may even put to bed fears that Brexit will create potentially damaging uncertainty for the UK ad market.
The Mail Online's advertising revenues increased 18%, or £3 million ($4 million), in the three months to the end of June, meaning the group's overall turnover was up 1% year-on-year.