The circulation of Trinity Mirror’s regional titles is showing signs of improvement.

But advertising revenues among its regional titles have been hit hard, with a fall of 11.6 per cent in the South East and London, according to a trading update issued by the group ahead of its interim results for the past six months.

Across the rest of the UK advertising revenues grew by 1.7 per cent, despite tough market conditions, resulting in an estimated overall advertising decline, year-on-year, of 2.3 per cent for the regional division.

A major factor is that regional recruitment advertising revenue is estimated to have fallen by 5.1 per cent. A decline of 21.7 per cent in London and the South East offset by an increase of 2.8 per cent for the rest of the UK.

Meanwhile an increase in cover price for some of Trinity Mirror’s regional titles has meant circulation revenue has increased 0.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Trinity Mirror chief executive Philip Graf said he was pleased with the progress that had been made in the regions.

He said: “The circulation performance is showing some signs of improvement, certainly from January to May, and we are mildly encouraged. I think June will be more difficult because the World Cup has obviously had an impact on us.

“But we have seen some encouraging signs in some of our businesses, particularly in Birmingham where we announced a major re-launch. And although again it is early days, we have seen some encouraging figures there.”

The group has been implementing a new strategic programme during the past six months and he said the potential improvement opportunities were greater than first identified.