Wholesaler Connect Group has reported a 1.3% drop in revenue.
The group’s income for the 45 weeks to 15 July was £1.49bn compared with £1.51bn in 2016, which the firm blamed on the decline in newspaper and magazine sales.
But the company hailed the £56.5m sale of its education and care division at the end of June to RM Education as “a milestone” in its strategy to focus on its “core operations”.
Revenue for its news wholesale business Smiths News fell 4.1% to £1.1bn, although its media income increased 6.1% to £24.7m.
The company said a “robust operational performance with ongoing cost control” was contributing to a strong second half.
Its Pass My Parcel delivery service with Amazon increased in volume year on year by 149% in June to 23,400 parcels a week.
Connect said core growth, new client partnerships, and the development of additional services contributed to the growth.
“Good progress is being made in leveraging the group’s capabilities in B2B final mile and early-morning delivery, attracting a growing client pipeline with a range of service propositions,” Connect said.
A 12% increase in its book distribution division to £189.7m was driven by strong sales in UK wholesale and online independent book shop Wordery.
Shares in Connect initially fell 1.2% before recovering within two hours to rise to 107p.
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