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Operating profits up 4.4 per cent for group's regional titles

Trinity Mirror’s regional newspapers saw operating profits increase by 4.4 per cent to £120.1m in 2002, the group has announced.

The figures were revealed in the group’s preliminary results for the year ending December 29, 2002, which also showed that as a whole the group saw like-for-like operating profits increase by 0.3 per cent to £190.6m, before exceptional items.

The group’s regional titles include the Liverpool Post & Echo, Newcastle Chronicle and Journal, Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, the Western Mail & Echo, Birmingham Post & Mail, Coventry Evening Telegraph and Huddersfield Examiner.

And the group’s Biggest to Best strategy for the titles has continued to deliver results above initial expectations, with revenue up to £9.4m, and cost savings of £10.6m.

The announcement also said the strategy meant the division now operated with common aims, objectives, policies and controls, instead of as 13 autonomous business units.

It said: “The success of the strategy is demonstrated by a strong financial performance despite a difficult advertising market which severely impacted the division’s largest business in London and the South East and to a lesser extent the Midlands.”

The preliminary results showed circulation revenue for the regional newspapers fell by 0.9 per cent to £81.1m, with modest declines in circulation partially offset by limited cover price increases.

Advertising revenue within the regional newspaper operations also fell by 1.4 per cent, to £394.5m, with differing advertising trends being experienced in local market places, and a clear North/South divide emerging.

Whilst advertising revenues in London and the South East fell by 9.9 per cent, the rest of the division, excluding Metros, achieved growth of 1.7 per cent.

There were also differing market trends regarding recruitment advertising, with revenue growing in excess of 10 per cent in Liverpool (14.1 per cent), Chester (12.7 per cent) and Cardiff (11.3 per cent), while in London and the South East it fell by 19.4 per cent and in the Midlands by five per cent.

Property advertising in some regions was weak all year, with a total decline of 3.0 per cent, excluding Metros.

Teesside and Scotland saw significant declines of 18.7 per cent and 14.5 per cent respectively.

However, Coventry, Newcastle and Cardiff achieved good growth in property advertising, with 11.7 per cent, 8.5 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively.

Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121,
or e-mail [email protected]

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©NEP 2003