Ad revenue down 9% at Trinity regionals

NEWSPAPER publisher Trinity Mirror has continued to report declining advertising revenue and circulation at its regional titles.

In the North West the group publishes the Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Post & Echo, as well as a string of weeklies.

In an interim management statement for the 17 weeks to October 28, it said revenue from regional operations was down by 9% to £89m. Ad revenue was down 13% and circulation revenue fell by 6%. Digital revenue at the regionals grew by 9%.

“Circulation revenues fell with minimal cover price increases partially mitigating volume declines,” said the company.

Its national titles, which include the Daily Mirror and The People, saw a sharper fall in revenue of 12% to £135m. Ad revenues were down 9% and circulation revenue fell 18%. Total revenue for the period was £223m, down 11%.

But it said the Daily Mirror was ahead of market trends and the Sunday Mirror, and other Sunday titles, were performing marginally ahead because of the closure of the News of the World.

Trinity saw an improvement in ad revenue in November, particularly at its national titles. On the back of this it is predicting adjusted operating profits for the year to be in line with 2011 at £104.5m.

Referring to claims of phone hacking by Daily Mirror journalists, Trinity said: “The board can confirm that no such claims have yet been served, nor have any particulars of such claims been provided. As a result, we are today issuing notices requiring claim forms to be served.”