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Further savings are to be targeted by Regional Independent Media to offset the impact of the foot and mouth epidemic on the economy.

The company, which publishes the Yorkshire Post and Sheffield Star, saw turnover in the first half-year increase by 6.6 per cent to £87.4m.

There was revenue and profit growth in both quarters, which in the six months increased by 13.7 per cent to £23.2m before tax and deducations.

The company blamed uncertainty caused by the postponement of the General Election and the economic impact of the foot-and-mouth epidemic for testing management’s “rainy day” preparations.

These took two forms – a further cost reduction exercise with expected full year savings of £1.5m, and innovative advertising ideas to overcome any spending reluctance in the market.

There has been a further review of costs, which is expected to generate new savings through the year.

RIM chief executive Chris Oakley said: “We do not expect a clear picture to emerge until the end of the third quarter and therefore are taking further steps to ensure we can hit our targets for profit and margin growth.

“These steps include reducing costs while continuing to invest in newspapers sales, advertising innovation and on-line delivery.

“We believe these encouraging results compare favourably with those of our peers. We have again improved profits and margins in our core business by growing revenues throughout the six months.”

The finance report also showed that household penetration by RIM’s major titles has risen by almost one per cent in the last two years thanks to the readership of their online sites.

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