Northcliffe Newspapers has seen its operating profit rise by nine per cent to £46.6m, with turnover of £257m boosted by an extra week's trading compared with the previous half year.

Circulation revenues for the division were also up - by two per cent on last year, according to parent company Daily Mail and General Trust's interim results for the half year to April 4.

The division publishes 20 daily titles, including the Derby Evening Telegraph, Leicester Mercury, Western Morning News, Bristol Evening Post and Aberdeen Evening Express, as well as 27 paid-for weeklies and 62 free titles.

It also reported that although ABC figures for July to December 2003 showed a decline on its daily titles, this had slowed compared with the same period last year with morning titles down 1.9 per cent and evening titles down 2.5 per cent.

There was more success with its weeklies, which were up 0.2 per cent.

Both sets of figures were better than the regional newspaper industry average.

Underlying advertising revenues grew by six per cent, with strong performances from recruitment and property which were both up eight per cent. Public notice and leisure/travel advertising also performed well, but little growth was seen from motors and retail/display sectors.

The group also said that a gradual improvement in publishing margins was being achieved, although this was largely cancelled out by lower contract printing margins as presses were being commissioned or refurbished.

DMGT as a whole also reported a strong half year, with adjusted profit before tax of £107.3m - an increase of 29 per cent compared last year despite only a patchy recovery in advertising.

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