Emap goes digital to help trading

Consumers are turning away from Emap's traditional print market

Magazine group Emap has said it will deliver earnings in line with forecast for the current year despite weak sales for its UK consumer titles.

The publisher of Heat and FHM said revenue for its consumer magazines fell 8% for the quarter to end of June with advertising down 13%.

It blamed cheaper advertising deals and the short-term effect of restructuring its sales teams for the decline.

But strong growth came from digital revenue, up 34% in the period.

Group revenue for the past three months was down 2% compared to the same period last year, boosted by Emap's business-to-business division, which increased revenue by 6% .

"At this early stage, we remain on track to deliver against expectations for the full year," said the company ahead of its annual general meeting.

Internet focus

The outlook for earnings is helped by the fact that the company's cost-cutting initiatives remain on track to deliver £20m of savings by 2009, analysts observed.

Emap also said it was "actively progressing" in its search to find a new chief executive following the departure of Tom Moloney in May.

Mobile and online content will be one of the key areas of focus in the future for the company, which also owns the Magic FM and Kiss radio stations, as it battles a tough magazine market.

Emap plans to make a further 10 of its magazine titles available on the internet in the second half of the year.

The fast-growing media market in India will also be pursued through Emap's recent purchase of a 40.1% stake in Mumbai-based Next Gen Publishing.

Emap is part of the 4 Digital Group consortium, which includes Channel 4, Sky News and Virgin Radio.

The group has been awarded the second UK national digital radio licence which will see Emap launching a radio station based on the content of its Closer brand.