The publisher Reach (LON: RCH) has posted a 14% decline in revenue in the five months to November.
The owner of 240 regional news titles including the Daily Mirror, Daily Star and Daily Express, saw print sales slump amid lockdown.
Despite print revenue falling 20% in the period, the group said that digital revenue was up 16.2, beating market expectations.
Chief executive Jim Mullen said: “The headwinds from Covid-19 have been considerable, but while we remain mindful of potential impacts from the current lockdowns, we approach the end of the year with a strong and growing digital business, resilient print circulation sales, and a new, efficient operating model.
“Our customer value strategy is now entering a new phase, with an increased focus on business intelligence and insight.”
Customer registrations at the group have now exceeded 4.3 million and it is on track to deliver the 10 million registrations it had targeted by the end of 2022.
In July, the group announced plans to cut 550 jobs after group revenue fell 27.5% in the first three months of the year.
Reach shares (LON: RCH) were trading +4.6% at 161.02 on Friday’s opening.