Daily Mail and General Trust , the publisher of the Mail Online website, said its full-year earnings per share would come in ahead of market expectations due to a reduced tax charge.

The group, which said the rest of its financial outlook remained in line with previous guidance, lifted the earnings forecast as it reported first-half adjusted profit before tax down 4 per cent but in line with forecasts.

Trading was helped by cost savings in its media division which helped boost margins and profits in the DMG Media unit. That helped to counter the lower underlying revenues at the unit, where the growth from digital advertising revenues only partially offset the decline in print advertising and circulation revenues.

“We expect the year-on-year performance to improve during the second half, particularly within the Business to Business portfolio,” it said.

The group saw a lower tax charge due to a change in the geographical mix of profits and from previously unrecognised historic losses.

Reuters