At the outset, I thank all our employees who worked under the strain of Covid-19 to deliver these results for the group. Everyone in our group has a strong sense of purpose of being there for each of our communities in difficult times. That is an intangible that is hard to value and not on our balance sheet.
Group turnover decreased by 24% to £14.1m, operating profit of £0.6m was down 60%. In a year of extreme stress for businesses, cashflow becomes the key measure and cash generated from operations was £2.9m, 4% higher than the prior year. This result is a reflection of the actions we took early last year as the pandemic started in order to reduce our costs and manage working capital. At the end of 2020, the group has net cash of £1.2m compared to a net debt of £1.0m at the end of 2019. We are grateful for the support we received from governments in both the UK and US.
Our brands are resilient due to the deep affection and loyalty that their communities have for them. Our oldest magazine brand was first published in 1898, the year that the US declared war on Spain. Along with other of our brands, it has seen and survived its share of world wars and past plagues. I am very glad that it remains to serve its community after this most recent pandemic.
We will continue seeking acquisition opportunities where we can deploy capital at attractive rates of return. The timing of finding new opportunities can be hard to predict but we’re in a good position when one appears.