Reach blames Facebook changes for sales decline

Reach, the UK commercial news publisher of titles such as the Mirror and Express, reported a fall in revenues by close to 6 per cent for the four months to April 23.

The publisher blamed recent changes to the way Facebook presents news content, which it said caused a reduction in referred traffic across the sector, the group said on Wednesday.

Digital revenue dropped 14.5 per cent, with print revenue down 3 per cent.

Circulation revenue has benefited from cover price increases last year, Reach added, while profit this year remains in line with market consensus.

Reach expects to launch US domain websites for The Express and Mirror over the next few months.

The group is on track to force through cost-cutting of between 5 per cent and 6 per cent this year, it added.