Johnston Press has reported a year on year fall of 9.5% in advertising revenues for the first half of 2008.
The regional newspaper group’s total revenue was down 6.3% to £293.1 million for the six months to the end of June, while operating profit fell 15.6% to £81.6 million.
Pre-tax profit was down 18.1% to £62.5 million, with Johnston saying that it had cut costs by £7.6 million.
Tim Bowdler, Johnston Press chief executive, said: “Advertising trends have continued to deteriorate over the course of the year and future performance will inevitably be linked to the economies of the UK and to a lesser extent that of the Republic of Ireland.
“In response to the current challenging circumstances, we continue to actively manage our cost base to achieve productivity gains and in a manner which will protect the long term prospects of the group. We expect to deliver a result reflective of these initiatives and the difficult market conditions.”
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