Taylor Swift's Eras tour, the European soccer championship and the UK election boosted digital revenue for British news publisher Reach in its second-quarter, reversing a decline in the first.
The publisher of the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and regional titles and associated websites cut cost to improve its margin by 3.9 points, resulting in a 23% rise in first-half operating profit to 44.5 million pounds ($57.1 million).
According to Reuters, revenue fell 5.2% to 265 million pounds, reflecting double-digit declines in print advertising in both the first and second quarters. Digital revenue, however, rose 6.7% in the second quarter after falling 8.5% in the first.
Chief Executive Jim Mullen said: "Alongside our expertise in managing our print product, we have traded our digital assets hard and delivered an operating margin improvement."
He said the group was delivering multi-platform journalism, with 9 million people signed up to receive news direct to their devices, including by WhatsApp.
"We had that three week burst with the Euros, the election and the phenomenon that is Taylor Swift," he said on Wednesday.
"But also some of the traditional advertisers are going through a purple patch, so food retail helped print, but it also helped digital," he added.
Shares in the company rose 1.2% in morning deals.
