A little more than two months after launch, Trinity Mirror (TNI) is closing its new print newspaper The New Day as circulation falls way short of expectations.
The aspiration had been to shift 200,000 copies a day but sales are reported to be a mere 40,000.
The news comes in an otherwise solid trading statement and, coupled with likely relief that the company is moving swiftly to exit a failing venture, this supports an 8.9% advance to 123p.
There are no new provisions against phone hacking and no change to full year guidance. April showed some improvement in trading with like-for-like revenues down 6.4% against a 9.3% decline for the first quarter.
The company points to a continuing smooth integration for its £220 million Local World acquisition, which added 100 regional titles to its portfolio. Management says it can achieve synergy savings of ‘at least’ £12 million in 2017.
Liberum reiterates its ‘buy’ recommendation and 275p price target on the stock and describes the closure of The New Day as ‘no surprise’.
