More advertising pain for Trinity

THE slump in advertising revenues is continuing to cause pain for newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror.

Trinity Mirror, which publishes the Daily Mirror, the Liverpool Echo, The Liverpool Daily Post and a string of smaller papers, said advertising revenues at its regional titles had droppped 34.5% in the 26 weeks to June 28.

In the 26 weeks to June 28 group revenue dropped 17% to £383m. Pre-tax profit came in at £2.1m, up from a £20.6m loss in the comparable period last year that reflected a significant impairment.

But the group said it had seen a “marginal improvement in advertising revenue trends” during the period which is expected to continue.

Restructuring, including widespread job losses and the closure of some titles, helped the group slash costs by £46m to £334m. The full year cost saving target is £65m.

Digital revenue, which has been the sole growth area in recent years, also decreased, falling 16.5% to £18.6m.

Chief executive Sly Bailey, said: “The economic slowdown continued to impact our business throughout the period. However, a combination of prudent cost reduction measures, the introduction of cutting edge IT systems driving new, more efficient ways of publishing, stable financing and more resilient circulation revenue continues to support profitability and positions the business for post-recession growth.”