National World Expects Revenue to Exceed Previous Year's

By Elena Vardon

National World, a London-listed news publisher, has announced that it anticipates its revenue for 2023 to surpass that of the previous year. The company's first-half pretax profit was affected by the advertising downturn and investments in new brands.

For the 26 weeks ending on July 1, National World reported a pretax profit of £1.7 million ($2.2 million), compared to £3.9 million in the same period last year. Adjusted pretax profit declined from £5.6 million to £3.2 million.

Revenue for the period decreased from £43.5 million to £41.6 million, according to the company. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also declined from £4.9 million to £2.1 million.

Chairman David Montgomery stated that the introduction of five acquisitions and improvements in newly launched online brands are helping to offset the loss of revenue from heritage assets. As a result, National World expects its overall revenues for 2023 to exceed those of the previous year. Montgomery highlighted the anticipated contribution of strong video revenue growth and the implementation of operational changes.

In 2022, the company reported revenue of £84.1 million.

National World expressed confidence that its full-year performance will meet expectations, citing a 2% year-on-year increase in revenue for July. The company expects its second half to benefit from its acquired businesses, new launches and relaunches of heritage brands, as well as expansion in video and TV.