The Evening Standard has returned to profit just three years after becoming the world’s first quality newspaper to go free.
Parent company Evening Standard Ltd made a trading profit of just more than £1 million in the 12 months to the end of September, according to provisional accounts.
Owner Evgeny Lebedev said he was “so proud” of the Standard’s editorial and commercial teams for turning round a title that faced closure only a few years ago.
He said: ”I’m delighted that the Evening Standard is back in profit. It’s been a tough but successful journey. I am so proud of our team, who against all the odds have proved that print journalism has a future yet.”
Sarah Sands, who has edited the paper since March this year, said: “Londoners have taken the Standard to their hearts. London has become the world’s greatest city and the success of the Standard has reflected that. We are immensely grateful for the support our readers have given us and will strive to continue to be worthy of this fantastic city.”
The paper was sold to Mr Lebedev by former owner, Daily Mail publisher DMGT, in January 2009. DMGT retains a minority stake.
Under previous editor Geordie Greig the Standard abandoned its cover price in October that year in a move that many commentators predicted would seal the fate of the paper. At the time, losses were running at the annual equivalent of £30 million. Since going free the Standard’s circulation has soared to more than 700,000 a day. Formerly, just 700 copies of the paper were sold at Oxford Circus Tube —now 32,000 are distributed there every day.
The Standard’s managing director Andrew Mullins said: “It has been tough work and it remains tough because the advertising outlook remains bleak. But we are confident of returning a modest profit in the coming year too.”
It is the first time the Standard has made a profit for at least a decade.
