Tindle Newspapers has seen profits increase by as much in the last 12 months as they did in the previous 14 years.

Chairman Sir Ray Tindle reported at the company’s general meeting that the company had enjoyed the most profitable year in its history.

The 12-month figures to September 30 showed a profit of £7,500,000 – an all time-record – and the group was well on its way to top £8,000,000 for the financial year to March, 2005.

It took 14 years from 1974 to 1989 for the company to achieve a profit of £2,500,000. Then it took the next 14 years to increase by a second £2,500,000 to £5,000,000 by 2003.

In the past year a further £2,500,000 has been added – in the 12 months to the end of September this year.

Sir Ray thanked Brian Doel, the group managing director, and the newspaper staff around the country.

Brian himself attributed the increase in profits to a mixture of cost-savings and revenue-boosting ideas that had seen a 20 per cent increase in turnover in past 12 months.

Among these was Sir Ray’s development plan to launch new monthlies and increase the number of newspaper titles and radio stations in the group to 200 by the end of the year.

The latest titles – launched last week – include the Pontyclun and Llantrisant Diary in Wales and the Looe and Polperro Independent Trader in Cornwall.

The meeting was also told that the company will have added two new radio stations to the Tindle stable before the end of the financial year: Radio Ceredigion and Delta Radio, subject to approval. Both stations come under Tindle Newspapers rather than Tindle Radio since they are community stations.

Cambrian News general manager Lis Owen-Jones was moving towards profitability with Radio Ceredigion, where she is also general manager. And Rosemary Prior, general manager of the Farnham Herald, was planning improvements for Delta Radio which covers Alton, Haslemere and Petersfield.

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