Daily Mail (DMGT) & Reach (RCH): Should you buy these 2 media stocks?

Highlights

• A recent gender diversity survey found 73 per cent of women in UK journalism faced a harder career growth path compared to their male colleagues.
• The report recommended media organisations nurture diverse talent to address the discrimination challenge.

About 73 per cent of women in journalism found their career progression was more difficult than their male counterparts, according to a new survey on gender diversity in UK journalism.

The report found about 70 per cent of women and 59 per cent of men agreed a majority of senior positions in the UK media industry was dominated by men.

Around 1,200 UK journalists were surveyed for the report. These journalists were contacted through the Cision database.

The report recommended media companies to invest in supporting a diverse talent pipeline, which sets out to actively address gender and age discrimination and low pay levels in women.

Let us take a look at 2 FTSE listed stocks in the media sector and how they have performed:

1. Daily Mail & General Trust PLC (LON: DMGT)

Daily Mail & General Trust is a British multinational media company, which owns the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Metro newspaper titles.

The company said it is considering various options, which include potential job cuts due to rising costs across newsprint, energy and distribution segments.

The company also released its FY 2021 results today, reporting its pro forma revenues were down by 1 per cent to £885 million on a year-on-year basis.

And, its cash operating income fell by 1 per cent to £76 million on a pro forma basis from the year before.

(Image source: Refinitiv)

Daily Mail & General Trust’s shares were trading at GBX 1,112.00, down by 0.54 per cent on 18 November at 13:10 hrs BST. The media sectoral index was at 9,664.12, up by 0.41 per cent.

The company’s market cap stands at £2,356.73 million, and its one-year return is at 58.18 per cent as of 18 November.

2. Reach PLC (LON:RCH)

Reach is a British newspaper, magazine and digital publishing company. It is amongst one of the UK’s biggest newspapers companies, publishing 240 regional newspapers as well as national titles such as Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and more.

The company recently closed 15 of its offices and asked many of its journalists to move to permanently working from home.

The publisher’s North West audience and content director, Allison Gow, said the move allowed many to work more efficiently instead of commuting to and from the office.

The company’s revenue for the 26 weeks ended 27 June rose by 4 per cent to £302.3 million, from the previous year.

While its operating profit for the same period rose by 25.5 per cent to £68.9 million on a year-on-year basis. The rise was due to a customer value strategy boosting its digital growth and other areas.

(Image source: Refinitiv)

Reach’s shares were trading at GBX 307.50, down by 0.32 per cent on 18 November at 13:28 hrs BST. The FTSE 250 index was at 23,505.05, up by 0.30 per cent.

The company’s market cap stands at £964.81 million, and its one-year return is at 108.67 per cent as of 18 November. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index.