Trinity Mirror advertising revenues fall 11%

National and regional newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror has seen an 11 per cent slump in advertising revenue in the first four months of this year and expects the trend to continue in May.

In a trading update today ahead of the group's annual general meeting, the company said total revenue in the 17 weeks to the end of April was down four per cent. Early indications are that revenues in May will decline by a further five per cent, with advertising revenue down 10 per cent year on year.

The decline in the nationals division was partly attributed to "the launch of a competitive Sunday newspaper at the end of February" - the new Sunday edition of The Sun.

Digital revenues in the first four months of 2012 grew by nine per cent across the group, and 24 per cent at the nationals division, following the relaunch of Mirror Online.

The company said today: "We remain on track with the transformation of our publishing capabilities to support the development of a multi-platform media business to be completed by the end of 2013. We are also making good progress with the digital investments."

However it added: "The trading environment is expected to remain challenging for the remainder of the year with month on month volatility in revenue trends."

National Union of Journalists general secretary Michelle Stanistreet has written to shareholders urging them to vote against the company's remuneration report at today's AGM.

She said: "Trinity Mirror owns some of the best-known and respected newspaper titles in the UK. In 2003, when Sly Bailey took over as chief executive, it was a FTSE 250 company worth more than £1billion and with a share price of 380p.

"Now, less than ten years later, the same CEO presides over a company a shadow of its former self – a FTSE Small Cap valued at £80m and a share price of 30p.

"Failure on an industrial scale by Ms Bailey has brought at least four years of no dividends for shareholders and misery for the workforce. She has axed more than half of all jobs during her reign. The company's strength has ebbed away as she has consistently chopped away at the core business: its journalists and the quality journalism they produce.

"During this disastrous period, the Trinity Mirror board continued to believe Ms Bailey should be paid as a successful FTSE 100 leader. Unbelievably, she managed to amass payments worth £14 million. Challenges by the NUJ at successive AGMs were breezily waved away by chairman Sir Ian Gibson who said it was 'the going rate'.

"That was never true and it is demonstrably false today.Following the example of Aviva shareholders last week, we urge you today to vote down the totally unrealistic Resolution 2 on Directors' Remuneration. We suggest you vote against the re-election of Sir Ian Gibson and also Jane Lighting for approving the monstrous boardroom pay-outs as chair of the remuneration committee.

"Sly Bailey said she will stand down by the end of the year. Let's not prolong the agony: we think she should go immediately and without the touted £1 million golden goodbye.

"It is clear that running a major media company without any main board directors having any journalistic background has been disastrous. We call on in-coming chair David Grigson to put this right. Mr Grigson must also immediately scrap Sly Bailey's £15 million cost cuts planned for this year and look to invest in and grow the company instead."

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