Reach Plc · LSE:RCH
Reach — FY2025 Earnings Presentation
36 slides from Reach's earnings presentation, Mar 3, 2026
Slide 1: Preliminary Results 2025
PRELIMINARY RESULTS 2025. Full year results presentation | 3 March 2026 1
Slide 2: Disclaimer
Disclaimer. This presentation has been prepared by Reach plc (the “Company”) Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of such and its subsidiaries or associated companies or its or their affiliates statements reflecting the knowledge and information available and, (the “Group”) in connec
Slide 3: Piers North, Chief Executive Officer
Piers North Chief Executive Officer Full year results presentation | 3 March 2026
Slide 4: 2025 summary
2025 summary. Strong foundations and clear priorities, sustainable business for the long term Year of progress. ● Launched three priorities to accelerate growth, underpinned by company purpose to reach people where they live ● Restructured business to allocate capital and resource directly to priori
Slide 5: Darren Fisher, Chief Financial Officer
Darren Fisher Chief Financial Officer Full year results presentation | 3 March 2026
Slide 6: Financial highlights
Financial highlights. Revenue Adj. operating Adj. operating Adj. operating Adj. EPS per profit profit margin cash flow share £518m £105m 20% £104m 26.8 p FY24: £539m FY24: £102m FY24: 19% FY24: £107m FY24: 25.3p FY25 Reach plc Financial Review £129m 4.5% 5.2% 99% 7.34p FY24: £130m FY24: 5.6% FY24: 6
Slide 7: Summary
Summary. Delivery ahead of market expectations Adjusted Results FY25 £m FY24 £m Var £m Var % Digital 128.9 130.0 (1.1) (0.9) • Revenue down 3.7% Print 388.1 406.7 (18.6) (4.6) • Digital revenues proved Other 1.4 1.9 (0.5) (23.0) resilient with revenues down Revenue 518.4 538.6 (20.2) (3.7) 0.9% desp
Slide 8: Digital revenue
Digital revenue. Resilient performance given challenging backdrop £130m (5.9)% +2.8% £129m Direct revenues (5.9)% • Advertising or commercial revenues generated from direct engagement with the advertiser, agency or consumer £23m £54.7m £51.4m • Impacted by the local advertising market and broader ma
Slide 9: Print revenue
Print revenue. Circulation, represents 55% revenues (3.4)% (14.8)% 2.6% (4.6)% • Total print down £18.6m • Print circulation remains resilient, revenue declining (3.4)% with CPI increases mitigating a 19% volume decline £406.7m £388.1m • Print advertising declining 15%, outperforming volume decline
Slide 10: Print circulation resilient
Print circulation resilient. Historical trends demonstrate the reliability of this revenue FY23: 1.6% FY24: (4.5%) FY25: (3.4%) 5% 0% • Over 0.5m copies sold a day -5% • Market-leading operational experts in managing print -10% revenue • Consistently high levels -15% of availability -20% • Three CPI
Slide 11: Operating costs
Operating costs. Disciplined approach maintained Operating costs declined 5.2% £439m • Labour costs reflect the all staff pay rise, £416m and inflationary impact from the NI changes (c.2%), net of headcount savings Labour (3.5)% £216m £208m • Newsprint costs have reduced from lower production volume
Slide 12: FY25 use of cash
FY25 use of cash. £145m RCF facility extended to 2029 £124m £(64)m • Pension scheme payments per the agreed funding schedule including £5m pension payments into escrow and a £3m one-off £(23)m payment to the West Ferry Printers Pension Scheme £(23)m • HLI estimates remain unchanged £(14)m £(14)m • O
Slide 13: Capital allocation
Capital allocation. Expect to maintain leverage <1x EBITDA Resilient print profits, sustainable cash generation and robust balance sheet Leverage <1x EBITDA 1 2 3 4 Organic Pension Returns to M&A investment funding shareholders FY25 Reach plc Financial Review 13
Slide 14: Capital allocation - a history
Capital allocation - a history. Strong track record in delivering returns to shareholders M&A Capital allocation over the last 4 years £17m £7m Returns to shareholders £23m Pension funding • £241m pension funding £23m £23m £23m £23m £23m Future pension funding • £92m dividends • £24m M&A final Expre
Slide 15: On track to deliver market expectations
On track to deliver market expectations. Full year 2026 Audience: Continued volatility in on-platform referrals Costs: 5-6% reduction adjusted operating costs Depreciation: Expect similar charge to FY25 (£20m) Adj. operating profit: On track to deliver market expectations Cash: Estimated £25m cost o
Slide 16: Piers North, Chief Executive Officer
Piers North Chief Executive Officer Full year results presentation | 3 March 2026
Slide 17: Reach business model
Reach business model. We connect with people where they live, on and offline, through their locations, passions and values Journalists and Content Audience creators FY25 Reach plc Business Model Advertising across Engagement with our content our audiences Direct / Indirect / Print Diversified incl.
Slide 18: Local, national and global brands
Local, national and global brands. UK ● 6th largest digital asset ● Over trusted 120 brands ● 34m digital audience, 69% of UK online population US ● 30m digital audience, >9% of US total Global FY25 Reach plc Digital strength ● 112m total social followers: Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat, Insta
Slide 19: Digital audience by source
Digital audience by source. Huge scale reaching 69% of UK online population, the UK’s 6th largest digital asset On-platform page views (8)% YOY Off-platform page views +20% YOY 21%* Direct 19% Google Manchester Evening News 35% Social FY25 Reach plc Digital trends 27% Other Everything we know as Met
Slide 20: Three priorities essential to navigating the market
Three priorities essential to navigating the market. OUR PURPOSE OUR AMBITION We connect with people where they live, on and offline, Deliver sustainable growth for the good of our content, our through their locations, passions and values communities, our customers and our colleagues OUR PRIORITIES
Slide 21: Connecting with audiences
To be designed Connecting with audiences. Video: Unlocking new markets and opportunities CONNECTING Across our newsrooms: ● Embedded c.110 new specialist video roles ● Growing video output >300 stories a day ● Where: ○ On-platform, social referrals grown 21% H225 v. H224 ○ Off-platform: grown 20% YO
Slide 22: Telling stories, where people live
Telling stories, where people live.
Slide 23: Accelerating the use of tech and AI
Accelerating the use of tech and AI. Optimising workflows and efficiency ACCELERATING the use of tech and AI Tech & AI key developments 2025 Plans for 2026 ● Upgraded our data platform Training & ● Data engine providing enablement ○ Enabling customer cohort targeting and analysis real time content s
Slide 24: Diversifying revenues
Diversifying revenues. Establishing our premium subscription offer Concept ● Exclusive content ● Cleaner, ad-lite experience ● Targeted offers and promotional rewards Current progress ● Live on MEN, Liverpool Echo, WalesOnline, Daily Record, Leicestershire Live and the Express ● 15,000 subscribers I
Slide 25: Advertising case studies
Advertising case studies. brought to you by Aldi Christmas Keep Britain Tidy All Out Football with Sky Bet Branded content Christmas Multimedia national and Football video/podcast campaign regional campaign & content, in partnership Utilising Reach network editorial partnership with Sky Bet and scal
Slide 26: Securing the future of our print operations
Securing the future of our print operations. Simplifying our business Market context ● UK Capacity: 11 sites ● Key to avoid excess capacity ● Consolidation is not linear with complex variables North England Decisive action represents ● Retain our Oldham site servicing North England c.45% ● Consolida
Slide 27: Connecting, accelerating and diversifying
Connecting, accelerating and diversifying. Focused delivery against our three priorities: Connecting with audiences: Expanding our video offering, growing social referrals and off-platform audiences Accelerating the use of tech & AI: Real time content scores, new AI applications to support video and
Slide 28: Q&A
Q&A
Slide 29: Appendix
Appendix Reach
Slide 30: Definitions
Definitions. Metric Description Adjusting items Items are adjusted on the basis that they materially distort the underlying performance of the business or they are not expected to recur in future years. Adjusted operating cash flow Aligned with the definition of adjusted operating profit to exclude
Slide 31: Direct v indirect digital revenues
Direct v indirect digital revenues. Direct revenues Indirect revenues Advertising or commercial revenues that are generated from direct Advertising or commercial revenues that are engagement with the advertiser, agency or consumer: generated indirectly such as revenue on social platforms (off-platfo
Slide 32: Group income statement
Group income statement. Statutory Operating Pension Adjusted Adjusted results adjusted finance results Operating adjusted items interest £m ● £m items £m charge £m £m relates to the items charged or credited to statutory not FY25 adjusted operating profit Revenue 518.4 - - - 518.4 ● Pension finance
Slide 33: Profit to cash measure
Profit to cash measure. FY25 FY24 Profit to cash £m £m ● Depreciation & amortisation Adj. Operating Profit 104.7 102.3 in line with prior year Depreciation & amortisation 19.7 19.6 ● Working capital impacted by payment and receipt timing Adj. EBITDA differences 124.4 121.9 ● Other includes the add b
Slide 34: Operating adjusted items
Operating adjusted items. ● Defined benefit pension related costs include external FY25 FY24 pension administrative £m £m expenses of £5.4m, pension Restructuring charges (22.9) (8.0) adviser costs of £4.8m and an additional one-off past Defined benefit pension related costs (12.9) (16.3) service co
Slide 35: Provisions
Provisions. Share-based Historical Property Restructuring Other Total payments legal issues £m £m £m £m £m £m As at 31 December 2024 (0.7) (18.4) (4.2) (9.1) (2.9) (35.3) Charged to income statement 0.2 (2.6) (22.9) - (0.5) (25.8) Utilisation of provision - 1.9 23.2 4.4 0.6 30.1 As at 31 December 20
Slide 36: Pensions
Pensions. ● Since the year end, the TRBS scheme FY25 FY24 Change has purchased an insurance policy to £m £m £m cover its remaining uninsured liabilities, a “buy-in”. This has resulted Fair value of scheme assets 1,593.1 1,571.0 22.1 in the Group no longer needing to make the remaining scheduled Pres