Publishing group Haymarket, the company behind Marketing, Campaign, and brandrepublic.com, has handed boss Lord Heseltine a £2m dividend after returning to profit following a cost-cutting exercise which has seen more than 100 jobs axed.
The company has bounced back to a pre-tax profit of £5.1m last year, after reporting a loss of £4.8m in 2009. The group reported a 3.9% year-on-year increase in turnover to £234.7m in the year to the end of December.
Turnover in the UK, which accounts for 67% of total group turnover, grew to £154m.
Accounts filed at Companies House show that 100 staff were cut from the payroll in the period. Overall, the directors took home a combined total of £4.2m last year – up from £2.1m in 2009.
However, the company still has a high level of debt. Net debt widened over the course of the year from £115.5m on 1 January 2010 to £123.6m at 31 December. Borrowing costs rose by £8m and the company shelled out £10.4m in interest.
The company said that trading in the first half of the year has been in line with expectations, although certain areas of the group remain under pressure, and that directors are cautiously optimistic that it can post a better financial performance for 2011.
According to chief executive Kevin Costello talent and diversification at the company, which now derives 40% of revenue from digital products and face-to-face operations, was at the heart of the turnaround.
Earlier this summer, the company implemented a paywall on its brandrepublic.com website, meaning readers now have to shell out nearly £180 a year to get full access to the site.
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