The logo of the Daily Mail is displayed on a smartphone screen. Picture: Bangla press/Shutterstock
Digital advertising revenue at the publisher of the Daily Mail fell by 15% last year.
Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) blamed the impact of Google’s AI Overviews on traffic to its websites in its financial results for the year to 30 September 2025.
DMGT also publishes the Mail on Sunday, Metro, The i Paper and the New Scientist.
Overall consumer media revenue at DMGT was down 2% overall year on year to £600m. It has declined 9% in the past three years.
Lord Rothermere took DMGT into private ownership at the start of 2022. Since then consumer media revenue has declined every year – although it continues to make up 55% of group revenue.
Digital advertising was down 15% to £148.3m last year, making up a quarter of consumer media revenue.
Website traffic was “adversely affected by the introduction of AI overviews by search engine providers, resulting in fewer users clicking through to news websites ”, DMGT said.
In December 2025 the Daily Mail’s UK digital audience was 14% lower than a year earlier, according to Ipsos iris, at 18.1 million people. However, total minutes spent with its content grew 1% year on year to 1.5 billion for the month.
Subscriptions revenue grew 10% to £133.6m in the first full financial year after the Daily Mail launched its Mail+ paid premium subscription on its website in January 2024.
Last summer the Daily Mail set a target of reaching one million digital subscribers by October 2028. The i Paper and New Scientist also have subscriptions revenue.
In 2022, digital advertising was 72% higher than subscriptions revenue at DMGT. In 2025, that gap had decreased to 11%.
Print circulation revenue declined by 1% to £239m, with circulation decline offset by cover price rises. Print advertising dropped by 3% to £103m, which was described as “a relatively resilient performance given the decline in circulation volumes”.
Despite the revenue decline as well as the cost of new investment in digital products, adjusted operating profit in the consumer media division grew 5% to £56m. Statutory operating profit went from a £46m loss to £12m profit.
DMGT said there had been a “continuing disciplined approach to cost management” with up to 99 job cuts announced in January 2025 as print and online teams were brought together to “fully together to create a dynamic digital-first newsroom”.
Separate accounts filed for DMGT subsidiary Associated Newspapers show it employed 1,853 staff in the year to September 2024 (down from 1,901 a year earlier).
DMGT reported reduced newspaper production costs after the closure of printing plants in Dinnington and Thurrock in April and May 2024 and the transfer of production to Newsprinters Holdings Ltd in which DMGT owns a 50% stake alongside News UK.
DMGT’s consumer media division reported exceptional operating costs of £38m (down from £93m in the previous year) primarily due to legal fees and severance costs.
Throughout the financial year DMGT subsidiary Associated Newspapers was preparing for a privacy trial being brought by Prince Harry, Elton John, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and others in relation to alleged unlawful information gathering. The publisher denies the allegations and a trial began in January ( updates can be followed here ).
DMGT also publishes property information, including US-based data and analytics company Trepp and Landmark Information Group and hybrid estate agency Yopa (both based in the UK).
All three property information businesses grew, with revenue for the division up 7% to £234m. Adjusted operating profit was up 24% to £27m.
DMGT also contains an events and exhibitions business, in which its five largest Middle East-based events all grew year on year: Abu Dhabi-based energy show ADIPEC, Big 5 Global in Dubai and Big 5 Saudi, The Saudi Food Show, construction events and Egyptian energy event EGYPES.
However, DMG Events also manages events for third parties and this part of the business was down as it is more “volatile” depending on the contracts delivered. Overall events and exhibitions events revenue was down 5% to £259m but adjusted operating profit was up 7% to £46m.
Overall DMGT reported revenue down 1% to £1.1bn as the property information growth was offset by the decline in other parts of the business.
Group adjusted operating profit was £97m, up 11% year on year, while the adjusted operating margin was 9%, compared to 8% in 2024.
Adjusted profit before tax was up 7% to £83m.
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