Paper trail

26 July 2004 By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The FT isn t core to the UK publishing group, its circulation is falling and it is still losing money. The pressure may mount to sell. After all, the recent Telegraph sale shows bidders are willing to pay top whack for a quality paper.

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Pearson reported an 8% drop in sales to £1.59bn in the first half of the year, mainly due to the weak US dollar. The UK publisher derives twothirds of its sales in the US. Despite the fall in sales, Pearson delivered a £2m operating profit before tax, up from a £1m loss a year ago.

Operating losses at the Financial Times narrowed to £6m in the first half from £15m in the same period a year ago, thanks to costcutting. Advertising revenues were up 3%, but Pearson said advertising trends were still erratic. Circulation at the FT fell 5% in the first half of the year to 427,00.

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