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Gloucestershire Business News

READ ALL ABOUT IT: Newspaper delivery giant welcomes profits for 2025

Smiths News PLC, which was established in 2006 but, before demerger, can trace its lineage back to 1792 when WHSmiths began, say the company is on track to achieve a profit of £33.3m by the end of its financial year on August 30.

The number signals a hearty rise of £8.6m on the previous year's innings and - amid growing scepticism for the trustworthiness of news through social media - begs a question of whether routine obituaries on print's health status may be a little hasty.

Figures released today for the Swindon-based publisher's AGM show that Smiths News, which sits alongside Cheltenham's Superdry in the FTSE SmallCap Index, said it continues to expect performance for 2025 to be in line with market expectations.

In the wake of the revelation, it has declared a dividend payout of 3.4p per share and a special dividend of 2.0 pence a share, bringing the total dividend to 7.15 pence, in line with the previous year.

Jon Bunting, Chief Executive Officer said: "The business has continued to perform well since the start of the year, and we remain on track to meet market expectations. Alongside ensuring we continue to deliver a first-class service to our newspaper and magazine customers, we remain focused on further capitalising on our proven early morning capabilities in order to further enlarge our operational footprint."

Today's results show that the British newspaper distributor's predicted adjusted pretax profit of £33.8m will contrast with a figure of £24.7m reported a year ago. But before the numbers are hastily triumphed as indellible proof that print is more than nibbling digital's rump, the prediction for adjusted operating profit, Smiths also says, is expected to drop to £37.2m from the known figure of £39.1m in 2023-24.

Nonetheless, this is essentially good news for media and publishing diversity, and Smiths News says it has formally secured long-term contracts which represent 91% of its newspaper and magazine revenues - to at least 2029.

The challenges print faces both nationally and here in Gloucestershire, but according to Tewkesbury Printing Company, which dates back to 1985, we may now be witnessing a reconnection to paper-based communication which mirrors the resurrection of vinyl over digital music.

Andy Sidall, managing director, said: "We have certainly experienced a notable upturn in book and catalogue activity of late. There was a trend towards potential business heading online, but that is now moving back again. A key reason has to be that people want something physical in these times of scepticism and disinformation, so there is always going to be room for print's reassurance within the publishing industry. The trend now is certaintly positive as we look ahead in 2025."

That view is echoed by Ian Robertson, who owns indie publisher Motorworld Media which sees enduring demand for two household auto titles in the UK and globally – though he is cynical about Smiths and claims the firm puts profit ahead of helping its clients.

Mr Robertson said: "We have taken our distribution inhouse by sending subscriptions out direct. Even taking postage into account we get more percentage than if we were to use Smiths."

He added: "While print isn't dead yet, it's the travel locations that are performing best, like airports and train stations. Traditional stores in shopping centres, we find, are not faring so well."

● Mark Owen, editor of Punchline-Gloucester.com said: "Smiths' findings are timely. Here at Punchline, our annual 2025 magazine will be back this year, with a print run of 15,000. For us, there is no choice: print adds a crucial Heineken effect to our digital muscle - it reaches the business owners out there on the coalface, the people who simply haven't got time to explore digital news and who want an authoritative overview - it's all they need to know, delivered straight into their hands, for free. We would not persist in print though, if it didn't make sound financial sense: happily it does, with our magazine making that otherwise lost connection to 125 business partners and trading estates, as well as high-street firms – people who most would not know existed, were it not for the hard miles walked by us to ensure they are kept in the frame. If precision counts in communications, print is laser-guided!"

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