Regional newspaper publisher Archant has announced that its operating profit fell for 2005, down to £31.6m.

Archant's newspaper and printing businesses saw a 19.9 per cent fall in profits, down to £27.9m.

The company, which publishes the Eastern Daily Press, East Anglian Daily Times, Ipswich Evening Star and Norwich Evening News, said it had been a challenging year for the regional newspaper industry.

Archant group's preliminary unaudited results for 2005 showed a 12.3 per cent fall in overall operating profit, down from £36m in 2004 to £31.6m.