Overview
- Reach said total revenue for the six months to June 30 fell 9% to £232.9 million and adjusted pre-tax profit eased 5% to £40.3 million.
- The group reported on-platform page views down about 40% and Google referrals falling sharply, which it partly linked to the rise of AI answers on search engines.
- Shares plunged in early trading, the company halved its interim dividend to 1.4p, and it swung to a statutory loss after booking large non-cash impairments tied to print sites.
- Management announced cost measures including team reductions, ending some third-party contracts and further consolidation of print manufacturing after recent site closures.
- Reach said it will pivot from referral-driven volume to subscriptions, studio/video and original branded content, and reported early traction with c.40,000 paid subscribers and a 37% rise in studio revenue.